Trials
by Patricia de Lioncourt
Summary: Sequel to Untested. Ria's survived the first test of her abilities inside Castlevania itself. However, when a new, more powerful baddie appears, looking for the key to Castlevania's power, is she in over her head?
1. Prologue

A/N- The sequel, as promised! Now, I'm working to finish up some of my other stories, so this one's updates will be slow coming. However, I'll get this chapter up now, and I'm going to try to get the first chapter up next weekend, at least. I'll try to keep the updates coming faster than the beginning of Untested's updates did. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own Castlevania. It all belongs to Konami. Believe me; I'm making no money off of this. This applies to all chapters.

* * *

Prologue

There had to be _something_ here!

Dr. Brownton removed his gold-rimmed sunglasses and wiped the sweat beading on his forehead. Even with his short cropped hair—as close to the scalp he could get without being considered "shaved bald"—it was still hot as hell. In the middle of the fall, it shouldn't have been so hot. But he was in the middle of a surprisingly bright-lit forest, and it seemed as if God was holding a magnifying glass between the sun and the exact spot on which he and his fellow archaeologists stood and worked.

Well, at least he had been liberal with the sunscreen all over his naturally milk-chocolate colored skin. And it probably didn't help that he had chosen a thick, woolen blue sweater, tan khakis, thick socks, and heavy brown boots to work in. He knew that he would be doing a lot of excavation on this dig. Apparently, he had overestimated the coldness of Transylvania's fall weather.

He shook his head and pocked the sunglasses, taking a careful step onto a large, gray stone-piece of ruin. He cast his eyesight out as far as it would reach, trying to see every inch of the ruins under study at the moment by he and his team. Of course, this was impossible. The ruins were clearly the remains of an immensely large castle, now crumbled to bits and pieces…but it was still finding itself necessary to Dr. Brownton.

Overhead, the call of some songbird sounded from the trees, seeming to urge him forward. Brownton stopped over the shoulder of each of his fellow team members as he came by them, asking on their progress. All gave him very negative responses. Nothing but rubble to be found. He made his way to the center of the excavation area marked off by the team already—in reality, a very small piece compared to the total size of the site, and slowly retrieved his sunglasses from his pocket. Once he had brought them up, equally as slowly, to the level of his eyes, he threw them violently upon the ground, stomping on them twice.

"Damn it all!" he yelled, causing many of his team to look over at him. He sighed and mumbled his apologies. They shrugged and went back to dusting and cataloguing every little square of stone.

Sure, in the three weeks since they had begun to excavate the ruined castle in the middle of the forest that the people of the local town called Eternal Night, they had found little things. Carvings, pieces of statues, but these were not the things he needed. He needed something big. No, not big. _Huge_.

It was review time for his grant. He needed more money, an extension on it. However, his proposed archaeological/historical pursuit had thus far produced nothing. Brownton had decided, as soon as he had completed his doctorate, to pursue something that had always fascinated him about Transylvanian history. In doing research for his dissertation, he had come across one family name, mentioned usually off-handedly—almost deliberately so, that came up more often than any other. Belmont.

Although he had decided not to pursue it further in his dissertation, as soon as he was able to apply for a grant for an archaeological dig, he decided that research on the history of the Belmont family, a largely secret history, would be his goal. He had a theory, one that most of his colleagues called foolish daydreams of fantasy. He supposed that these Belmonts, whoever they had been (and were now, since he knew for a fact that at least one of this family line had family in the next town over), had somehow shaped the history of Transylvania and maybe, though he had yet to mention this one aloud to anyone, even the world's history. All he needed was something. Some little scrap of proof of something, anything! Then there would be no way the review board could deny the extension of his grant.

But without it…his career would be, effectively, over.

He shook his head, not wanting negativity to invade his thoughts. He was normally a very positive person, committed to seeing the brighter side of life. But, he only had two weeks before the board's final decision. And this was a huge sight…most of which would be unable to be explored without the damned extension.

As if in answer to his problems, a slight breeze blew by him, and drew his attention to a small gathering of brush twenty feet outside of the marked-off excavation site. He blinked as the breeze began to move some of the brush, revealing something that was so white that Brownton was sure that that color did not appear naturally in the wild. His breath caught, and he dared hope that this was just what he needed. Throwing all he knew about safety on the excavation site to the wind, he hopped the thin red line that marked the end of the surveyed site and took off at a run towards the white thing.

Immediately, yells and calls of "What are you doing?" and "It's not safe!" rose up from his team. He ignored them and threw himself into a kneeling position in front of the white thing. Reason caught up with him for a moment as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a pair of thick safety gloves, slipping them on. He began to slowly tear at the gathered brambles, revealing more and more of the white thing. Eventually, when he was convinced of the solidness of the thing—he had refused to take it all in yet, although he had unveiled a good bit of it in moments—he began to tear at the brush more and more frantically. Finally, and after having to do some moving around the rather large object—a bit larger than a person and much wider than one by far—he stood to look down at his find and gasped.

Lying before him on its side, apparently carved only of bones, was an elaborate throne. Its back would rise, Brownton figured, a good bit over the head of whoever was sitting in the throne's rather perfectly preserved blood red velvet backing and seat. At the end of the armrests were two carved skulls—or at least, Brownton _thought_ they were carved—and the legs of the throne were reminiscent of what he imagined demonic claws must look like.

By this time, his team members had gathered around him, staring down in awe at the throne. Whispers were slowly rising, questions about the evil looking object.

"Whose do you think it was?" he heard off to his left.

"What's it _made_ from?" someone asked from the back of the group.

"It looks rather…off, doesn't it?"

Brownton felt his face break into a small smile. His grant was secure now.

* * *

End Notes: Ominous beginning, I'm hoping. Also, this continues my tradition of starting the Untested stories with someone other than Ria. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and, as I said in the author's note, I'll have the first chapter up here soon! I know that this is rather short, and I do apologize for that. Please review!


	2. No Answers

A/N- Wow, thanks for all the great reviews! I was actually a little bit…afraid is too strong…something less than afraid that people would be miffed that the story didn't start out with Ria. Glad to see some positive responses!! Here's the first chapter!

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Chapter 1- No Answers

The museum smelled of dust and too much of that "safe" cleaner. And floor wax. It smelled of quite a bit of floor wax. The museum guide walked backwards, pointing at various objects behind glass, the fluorescent light bouncing merrily off of his name tag and obscuring his name in the process. The guide was droning on and on…in voice that clearly stated, "I'm so bored with this," and talking about basically the same thing that was on the little plaque by the glass-protected item. And the teacher leading his students around was nodding as if he were in the middle of an inspiring church sermon. Any moment, Adriana Smith—Ria, to friends and family—expected to hear him say, "Preach it, son!"

Not that Ria _heard_ any of it. She was currently too busy listening to, discreetly, her mp3 player. She had her jacket—really too light for the winter weather sweeping the area—zipped up all the way, her ear buds' cord hidden under it. She would have pulled up the hood to cover the rest, but she had cut her blonde hair a little longer—about a half an inch to an inch past her chin—than she usually did, but keeping it still the same, sharp cut. Her blue eyes were almost glazing over with boredom and her own personal brand of daydream—which was a common occurrence every time she listened to the mp3 player. She was keeping her eyes just open enough to make sure she didn't get left behind in the group. Not that she didn't know her way around…she just didn't want it to stand out _that_ much that she wasn't paying attention.

If she had known that field trips to this museum were common amongst her new school's sophomore history class, she would've opted to not take advantage of her mother's, Sophy Smith, job. Sophy, who used to work more on the forensic side of history, had settled into a job with the museum's cataloguing department, calling the new position, "a much needed break." This, of course, had allowed Ria to take as many trips through the museum as she had wanted. Which was a nice, quiet alternative way to spend out the last few weeks of summer she had had left after—what she was now lovingly referring to as—her smack-down with Dracula. She took Sara with her often, until the whip-bound ghost woman had begun to complain of visiting the museum too much. Ria had thought this sort of contradictory to Sara's lot in her afterlife. After all, how many times _had_ the woman—in the form of the Vampire Killer—been to Castlevania? But Ria hadn't argued and had, instead, starting bringing Isaac along, who was a lot more interested in the place than he often let on.

Currently, while Ria dwindled away the last few hours of her school day—a teasing Thursday—in the museum, Sara—and thus, the sacred whip—and Isaac, who had been living with the Smiths since the defeat of Walter, were at Belmont Manor, awaiting a planned training session later that night. Ria often amused herself by trying to imagine what the two of them did when no one was around. Isaac couldn't see Sara—but, from what all were guessing was constant exposure to Ria, he was becoming more increasingly aware of her presence than what he had previously been—but Sara could see him. Ria found it funny to imagine Isaac checking over his shoulder after every move he made, terrified that Sara would report him to Ria.

Okay, so "terrified" was maybe too strong. But, after all, Ria was simply amusing herself.

Ria was still lost in her own daydreams when she suddenly felt something that felt suspiciously like an elbow dig into her side. She blinked, narrowing her eyes in annoyance, and turned in the direction of the nudge. She found herself face to face with Keisha Stone, a fellow sophomore and the only friend Ria had been able to make so far. Her hair was what Ria called, "Beyonce hair." Which meant that it was long, fell in half-curls, and was died a reddish blonde that complemented her mocha skin-tone well. Her brown eyes were wide and she made a quick motion to signal for Ria to remove at least one of her ear buds.

"What?" Ria said, taking out only one ear bud and being extra careful to make sure she was only whispering.

"Looks like the new exhibit is finally up, Ria. The one you were telling me about," Keisha said, pointing in the direction of the tour guide and their teacher.

Keisha, like Ria, was an American who had been transplanted to Romania. She was an "army brat," meaning that her father, as a member of the U.S. army, often got moved around a lot. He had recently gained rank, as Ria understood it, and her family had been moved here while her Father oversaw the building of a new U.S. military base. Keisha was taller than Ria, by an inch or two, but about the same body size. Now, she had her long arms, currently clothed in a purple sweater, pointing emphatically ahead.

"Look," she commanded.

"All right, all right," Ria said, turning.

And her jaw dropped. Up on a display dais before her classmates was a large throne, constructed of bleached white bones and blood-red velvet lining. Its feet were carved like a demon's claws and two skulls decorated the end of each armrest. Ria felt her stomach curl and her jaw stick in its position of "dropped." Keisha leaned sideways, her eyes on throne and not her friend.

"Creepy, isn't it?" she whispered.

Creepy didn't cover it. Ria knew this throne. She knew it all too well. Against her will, the very sight of it conjured up memories of her fight with the vampire king Dracula, the owner of the throne. She had ended up slamming into the throne on more than one occasion during that fight. Involuntarily, she now reached around and began to rub her back. Then, shaking her head, she knew she had to get answers. She pulled on the ear bud still in, muttering an almost inaudible, "ow!" at the small pop in made coming out and threw her hand into the air. This caught not only her teacher by surprise, but also the tour guide. The young man blinked and cleared his throat, before pointing her out in the crowd.

"Yes? You have a question about this piece?" he asked, gesturing to the throne.

"Um, yeah, um," Ria stuttered, trying to figure out what she was going to say first.

After all, she couldn't very well ask, "Hey, do you guys all know that we're staring at the evil Count Dracula's throne?" Could she? She shook her head free of the crazy thought and continued.

"Where did it come from?" she asked.

A few of her classmates tittered and Keisha shook her head. The tour guide ran a hand over his shortly cut brown hair.

"Um, we don't know. I already said that, miss," he said, but in a voice that showed his clear self-doubt.

The tour guide's confidence was restored when Ria's history teacher, Mr. Hamm, said, "If you had been paying attention, Miss Smith, you would have heard this young man say just that earlier."

More tittering. Ria ignored it and, most visibly, rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, sir. I _meant_ where did the museum get it…was it shipped in? Found locally?" she asked.

The class laughed again, but it wasn't at her. This time it was at the sheepish looks appearing on Mr. Hamm's and the tour guide's faces. Ria fought down a sarcastic smirk and kept her face as straight as possible. She needed to seem indifferent if she was going to find out anything about it. Get too sarcastic, and all she'd wind up with would be detention. The guide cleared his voice again.

"Um, it was found locally by one of our archaeologists. It was found a little ways inside the forest, amongst a lot of ruins. I hope that answers your question. Now, any more?"

But Ria's hand was in the air again. The guide had to choke down a groan. "Yes?"

"Was there anything else nearby? Other than the ruins?"

"Like what?" the guide asked.

Ria faltered, trying to look for a neutral way to make her next inquiry.

"Um," she began. "Maybe a castle or…or bones, or something like that?"

Now her classmates were interested, and all were almost glaring the tour guide down. Keisha stared at Ria, as if trying to read her mind and figure out why she was suddenly so interested in the field trip.

"No. Just ruins, that had fallen several, several years ago," the tour guide said, and the class, as a whole, gave small groans. Clearing his throat once more, the guide added, "Now, if you will all follow me as we continue…"

And he, Mr. Hamm, and the class moved on. Ria, however, simply moved forward to gaze up at the demonic throne. Keisha stepped up beside her, looking between the throne and her friend.

"That was crazy, Ria. Why were you asking all that?"

Ria smiled a little. She had learned real fast that Keisha didn't beat around the bush when she wanted answers, and Ria admired that. Without being able to tear her eyes away from the throne, she answered, "I don't know. I just find it interesting…that's all. And Mom never mentioned it to me. God, that tour guide knew _nothing_, did he?"

Keisha laughed. "Well, he only knows what they told him. Hey, maybe you can just ask your mom about this?"

Ria pursed her lips. That was actually a _really_ good idea. She nodded.

"Yeah. I'll ask Mom. Man, they could really use her in the forensic part of this place again."

"Why do you say that?"

"Huh?" Ria said, jerking herself away from her thoughts. "Nothing. Come on, Keish, let's catch up with our class before Hamm blows a vessel."

Keisha laughed and the two scurried onward, Ria's thoughts preoccupied the whole way.

…………………

Ria arrived at Belmont Manor at a little after three in the afternoon. Her class had left the museum, via bus, and had arrived back at their school just in time for the day's final bell to ring. She had said her good-byes to Keisha and all but ran to her car, a Kia Rio—a used little thing, its red paint having lost some of its shine and having gained a few scrapes along the passenger-side door. Getting her driver's license had been priority one after defeating Dracula. And Sophy had been so happy to have her daughter alive that she had come home the weekend after the vampire king's defeat with the Rio, which ran like new.

She shut the driver's side door a little harder than she had intended to and crunched her way over dead leaves until she arrived inside her home. She wiped her feet quickly and made her way to the base of the staircase.

"I'm home!" she shouted up it. "Mom? Where are you? I wanna ask you something!"

"I'm up here!" Sophy shouted back. "I'll be down in a minute!"

Ria nodded and headed into the living room, and gave a sort laugh at what she saw there. Stretched across the long sofa, his feet propped up on one arm of it, was Isaac. He had pushed his crimson hair back out of his eyes—which made for a funny poufy effect, as it was quite shaggy—and his eyes were locked on the television ahead. He was dressed in his typical black leather pants and black, silk button up shirt. However, he currently had no shoes on and the paleness of his feet seemed to shine in the darkened room. Shaking her head, Ria walked over and turned on the wall switch with no warning, causing him to groan and hiss at the light. Ria laughed and took a seat in the recliner set just a little bit to the side of the sofa.

"Where's Sara?" she asked, scanning the room and finding no sign of her ghostly friend.

"She was here a minute ago. Then she left," Isaac drawled lazily.

Ria rolled her eyes as she kicked her shoes off and pushed them aside. "I see that. And, by the by, I can see you've had a productive day."

Isaac glared up at her, and said, with a sneer, "I'll have you know that I've done much today. In fact, I just finished my own personal training regiment not mere minutes before your arrival."

"Well, you've gotten mighty comfy in those mere minutes."

"Well, I do work and play hard."

Ria shook her head and turned as the sound of heals on the hardwood flooring of the manor called her attention to the threshold between the living room and the entrance hall. She was a little surprised to see her mother standing there, dressed in a simple black dress that came down just a little past her knees, placing gold earrings upon her ears. Her blonde hair was pulled back and clipped, accentuating her heart-shaped face. Her make-up was looking expertly done, and she looked like she was in some sort of hurry.

"Something going on at the museum tonight, Mom?" Ria said, standing.

Sophy looked up and blinked. Then, with a soft smile, she said, "No. I…um…I'm going out. With someone."

At this, Isaac rose up and looked over the back at the sofa at Sophy.

"You look quite splendid, Sophy," he said.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Isaac."

Suck up, Ria thought. Out loud, she said, "Yeah, Mom, you do. So…you have a date?"

At this, Sophy's brow furrowed with concern. After her kidnap by Walter, Sophy and Ria had finally managed to find a peaceful harbor for their previously stormy mother-daughter relationship that had followed the death of Ria's father, Jared. Now, the two of them had a standing agreement to keep each other informed about everything important going on in their lives. However, Ria had not been informed about this.

"I should have told you. I'm sorry. I can cancel, if you're not okay with this. Because I want you to be okay with this…I mean, after all, it's only been a year since your father's—" Sophy began to ramble, but Ria cut her off.

"No. You should. Go, that is. Out on your date, and have fun. I mean, life goes on…I'm cool with it. Really. Just surprised," Ria said.

She smiled, trying to reassure her mother, trying to convince her that she was telling her the truth. Which she was, albeit just holding back some. After all, it was strange to see her mother going out on a date…but life _does_ go on.

"I should have told you," Sophy said simply.

"It's _fine_, Mom. Really. You've been busy this week, what with that new exhibit and all…it probably just slipped your mind. Is he coming to pick you up?"

"No. I thought it best that I find out if he's as nice as he seems before I introduce you to him. Besides, he had to work late at the museum tonight," Sophy answered, inspecting her black heels. "Do these look okay? They're kind of old."

"They look like new, Mom. And he's a co-worker?"

"Yes, he is. Now…I've got to go. Give me a kiss," Sophy said, leaning forward as Ria kissed her mother's cheek.

Sophy turned to leave, only to stop short. "Ria, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Ria blinked. She opened her mouth, about to mention the throne. Her mother looked so excited…if not a little nervous…about her date. With a smile, Ria shrugged.

"It's not important. I'll ask you later. I'll be out training tonight, by the way," she said.

"I know. Isaac told me that you and Sara had set that up. Oh, do you know I've started catching glimpses of her? Like out of the corner of my eye. Blue dress, black hair, with a sort of halfway Princess Leia look?"

"Yeah!" Ria said excitedly. Then, sighing, she laughed and added, "Go on, Mom! Have fun!"

Sophy laughed and nodded, finally making it out the door. Ria sighed and turned, coming face to face with Sara.

"Ah! Well, speak of the devil…or of the whip-bound ghost," Ria said. "Have a nice day?"

Sara smiled. "Yes. I kept following Isaac around to make him paranoid. It's a lot more fun than it sounds. And I've been thinking about your training tonight. Also, I don't appreciate my hair being referred to as a 'halfway Princess Leia look.'"

Ria laughed. "Okay, I'll tell Mom. What do you have planned for the training?"

Ria turned and made her way back to the recliner, and Isaac had already laid back down across the sofa.

"Hi, Sara," he said dully and to the television.

"Tell him I said it back," Sara said.

Ria shared the message. This was one of the main downsides of her whole household knowing about Sara now. They all used Ria to talk to her. It was quite annoying at times.

"As for your training," Sara said, sweeping her large blue and silver dress around the sofa, "it's nothing special. Just some practice killing vampires in the local cemetery and then sparring with Isaac. But, out of curiosity, what were you going to ask your mother about?"

"Oh, I was definitely going to mention that," Ria said, reaching for the remote on the wooden coffee table—with a glass surface—and turning the television off.

"Hey!" Isaac protested.

"Listen, this is important!" Ria ordered, and Isaac fell silent.

Ah, the wonders of controlling someone through a blood bond! One of the best ideas Dracula had ever had.

"I saw the new exhibit at the museum," Ria continued.

"And?" Sara asked.

"It was Dracula's throne."

Isaac was suddenly rapt with attention and deadly serious.

"Are you sure, Ria?" he asked.

Ria nodded. "You don't forget something that nearly broke your back about four times. Could this be bad?"

"Very bad," Sara and Isaac said in unison…though, of course, Isaac was unaware of that fact.

Sara's pale blue eyes were wide as she looked between Isaac and Ria.

"How bad?" Ria asked.

At this, Isaac shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Dracula always protected his throne fiercely, and not in the metaphoric sense. The actual throne was always guarded when he was not near it…but I never knew why."

Ria groaned and slumped down in her chair. "Fat lot of help that is."

"Should we do something about the throne?" Sara asked.

"Maybe we should wait," Ria said.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "What did Sara say?"

"She asked me what we should do about the throne. I think we ought to just wait. I mean, why act when nothing's happened? Besides, it's not like I can just take the throne, now can I?"

"You've got a point. We'll wait," Sara said. "And in the meantime…it's almost dark. Get ready for training, you two."

…………………

The cemetery that was just a little ways from Belmont Manor had been the site of Ria's first victory over a vampire. Now, she had killed so many in that place that it was beginning to lose its significance. As it was, Ria was now currently in the act of wrapping her Vampire Killer around a newly risen vampire's neck.

"And…pull," Ria said, doing just that.

The whip tightened and went clean through the neck, making the vampire dust in seconds.

"Well done," Sara said. "You're really getting this. However, you're still not doing so well with magical fighting, but we'll cover that later. Tell Isaac that he's up."

But Isaac had inferred from the destruction of the vampire that his turn was next, and he was ready with his Chauve-Souris when Ria turned. She readied herself, holding tightly to the whip, and waited. Finally, growing impatient, she struck out first, a move that was easily dodged by Isaac.

"Normally the bad guys will attack first," Sara noted.

"I know," Ria said, hitting the soft cemetery ground and rolling as Isaac jabbed with his spear.

He brought the weapon around his back and tried to smack her on the side. Ria ducked under it and came up, aiming her whip at his chest. With a cry of, "whoa," Isaac side-stepped her, just barely, and came up behind her. He brought the Chauve-Souris straight down, clipping her on the left shoulder.

"Ow!" Ria cried, stumbling forward.

"Sorry," Isaac said.

She whirled and faced him, her eyes set in a glare.

"Hm. Not as sorry as he's going to be," Sara muttered.

Apparently, Isaac had no need to hear Sara to understand that sentiment. Ria struck out again and again, hitting him almost every time. Finally, he did a back-flip, putting some distance between the two of them. With a slight smirk on his lips, he said, "So, anger's always it, is it?"

"What?" Ria snapped, lashing out again.

She clipped his arm as he dodged to his left. When he was upright again, he smiled.

"So…Mom's hitting the dating scene now, huh? How about that?" he said.

Ria felt her mouth twitch involuntarily. "I'm fine with it."

"I saw that," Isaac proclaimed.

She lashed out towards his thigh and connected, hitting the inside just above his knee.

"Yeouch…careful there," he cautioned.

"Sorry," Ria snapped.

Fighting was a lot simpler when you didn't have to spend half your time apologizing to your opponent for hurting them. But Isaac recovered quickly and had that silly smile on his face. Like he knew something she didn't.

"And you've had…how many dates recently?" he asked.

That struck a nerve. Ria, with a growl, lashed out with the whip, too fast for Isaac to move. She struck him right in the chest, a little harder than she had really meant to. She saw the small gash her attack had caused as he fell back. With a gasp, she ran and knelt beside him.

"You okay?" she asked hurriedly. "I'm sorry."

Isaac started to answer, but was cut short as a slight rumbling seemed to erupt from the very ground. He exchanged a look with Ria that clearly asked the same question she was thinking, which was something along the same lines as, "What the hell is that?"

But before either could actually vocalize a question, the rumbling transformed into full-blown movement, throwing Ria off her knees and forward towards the ground. Isaac caught her by the shoulders and held her steady.

"An earthquake?" Sara asked.

"Does this country usually get earthquakes?" Ria asked, feeling her teeth chatter with the motion.

"Yes…but this is something more, I think!" Isaac responded, pointing.

The few trees that decorated the cemetery were splitting right down the middle, as if struck by lightning…or in a cartoon, maybe. But there was no lightning, and Ria was about eighty percent sure they all hadn't been sucked into a television.

"That's not all! Ria, look at the horizon!" Sara yelled.

Ria's eyes widened as she directed Isaac's eyes in the same direction.

"Dear God," he said, keeping a hand steady as he turned to look at the line of the horizon.

Only it wasn't so much a straight line anymore. Instead, it looked as if fire—actual, flame-y fire—was rising up and licking at the moon with crimson and orange serpents' tongues. And then, just as sudden as it had started, it stopped.

Ria pulled herself up, breaking free of Isaac's supportive hand, and stared off into the distance. Then, just as Isaac was on his feet, she groaned.

"Oh, man. I hope that doesn't mean that Castlevania's back."

* * *

End Notes: Okay, that chapter is mega-longer than what I originally thought it was going to be. Okay, now the bad news…I'm currently trying to finish up some of my other stories—a Darkwing Duck story and a Batman: The Animated Series story, if anyone wants to know—which means I'll be devoting a lot of time to those two. I can't promise regular updates on this until I can focus on it a bit more…however, I love this story line and these characters so much that I'll inevitably post more on it than I probably need to (in relation to trying to finish those stories). So I beg your patience. Also, if anyone is a Harry Potter fan, drop by my profile and drop a vote (or two) on my poll. Thanks!


	3. Master of Old

A/N- Okay, so I decided to upload this chapter, even though I still have not finished that other fic that I was working towards finishing (I'm only four chapters away...I'm so close) and I have not completed my NaNoWriMo word count (50,000 words in 30 days…I'm at 23k…and this is where I've been the past month…not to mention school papers and such)…I'm going to count this chapter, which is sort of cheating and makes me feel horrible…but anyway…On another note, I've been playing with a legal, free program called GIMP, which is sort of like Photoshop. I've done some fanart for a few of my stories, including two pieces for Untested. Slinky_And_The_BloodyWands has also done some fanart for Untested, so you should check us out. They can be found on our profiles at deviantart. I'm PatriciaTepes at patriciatepes. Deviantart. Com and Slinky is falthee. Deviantart. Com (remove the spaces and make all lower case.) Anyway, on with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 2- Master of Old

**Moments Earlier**

The sounds of chanting in a language of old rose up through the trees that formed Eternal Night, as a group robed in black and gold entered the ruins of Castlevania. Their clothing looked like that of someone from Ancient Egypt, with the gold neck collars, the cut of the black, flowing cloth, and the style of the golden sandals that clad their feet. They walked in a line, the first of them wearing the mask of a jackal. The next in the line of the Egyptian cult was bearing the symbol of a column around his neck that looked, if there had been any casual observer, like a bad rendering of a backbone. The two leaders, as it seemed that both had equal power, broke off as they reached the spot where the Throne of Dracula had once sat. They turned to their followers, all clothed in the same, black Egyptian style—only without the symbols, and pointed to the now empty spot.

The followers were marching in behind two by two, carrying what appeared to be an enormous golden staff. The weight of it must have been great, for the followers, occasionally, grunted with the effort of moving it. However, they made no other protests against their burden. At the back of their line, were the ornament—a giant, silver bulb—of the staff was, the members of the Egyptian cult crowded beneath it to hold it.

"Place it in the ground, here," the leader with the jackal head ordered.

The group behind him made no verbal reply, but set to doing their ordered tasks. With grunts and groans, they managed to put the bottom tip of the staff on the ground—now exposed due to the Throne's absence—and push it up. Next, they surrounded it and pulled, hard, down on the long golden rod, planting the staff as deep into the ground as it would go. They stepped back as soon as their work was done. The leader bearing the backbone symbol nodded in approval.

"Excellent. Stand back and form the circle," Jackal Head said.

The cult did as they were told, their chant picking up once again. They all, as one and at least twenty feet back from the staff, fell to their knees around the staff. They looked up to it in reverence, placing their hands together as if in prayer with their elbows bent, raising them over their heads, spreading them wide so that they were held out in a "T" shape with the palms up, then finally starting the move again. Over and over they did this, their chants rising in volume and vigor each time.

The leaders, meanwhile, had moved back from the gigantic staff, which reached easily a hundred feet over their heads, but had not joined the circle. Instead, their backs were to the other cult members, and they seemed to be basking in the chant itself. The bearing of the backbone symbol's black eyes were wide and shining in the night, and his long, braided black hair was beginning to move in a breeze that seemed to be slowly working itself up. He glanced over at his Jackal companion and grinned wickedly. The Jackal nodded in response. He raised his hands up high.

"It is time," he boomed to his followers.

If possible, the chanting grew even faster. The Jackal's partner knelt while he remained standing.

"We call upon the power of Anubis," the Jackal cried.

"And the power of Osiris," his kneeling partner joined in.

"We wish the crossing of our master! Release he who was imprisoned by his foes!" the Jackal snarled up at the staff.

"The one that would be Master of All!" cried the partner.

"Rise!" the group cried in unison.

The chanting was picked up for another round, with the two leaders simply standing there. The wind was brutal now, all the robes of the followers being pressed against their forms. However, the chanting was not interrupted. Again, as they seemed to reach the end of their mantra, they shouted, as one, "Rise!"

Again and again they did this, and each time the wind blew harder. The dirt that surrounded the staff began to stir up and form a dust cloud, but the conviction of the cult could not be swayed. With each shout of "Rise," the earth seemed to tremble. Finally, the trembling did not stop. The horizon rose in flames and seemed to try and consume the moon, and a giant hand shot out of the ground, grasping the staff.

The leader that was still standing fell to the ground, prostrating himself before the hand. The hand, for its part, looked mostly skeletal, with only a smattering of muscle and decaying skin upon it…and it was clad in golden armor that seemed to match the staff perfectly. Following the hand was an arm, then a shoulder…and, finally, a head.

The head of the creature was terrifying. It looked like a decaying jackal in itself, but still not quite. Its jagged sharp teeth were showing in what looked like an eternal snarl and it wore a gold headdress with a single, silver horn and several sliver cylinders projecting themselves from the back of it. As the creature rose further out of the ground, taking the staff with it as it finally came to stand at its full height—which was two times the length of its own staff—it seemed to have a vaguely reptilian feel to it, as its stomach seemed to be covered in scales. This was no creature of God's creation. The rest of its body seemed to be covered in the smattering of muscle and dead skin, as well as the golden armor, which seemed to have an Egyptian feel to it. The armor only covered the creature's upper torso and its groin area, with a blue and gold cloth falling from the armor there. Its knees were clad in spiked armor, with two rings encircling each ankle. Its legs ended in two clawed feet. And when it looked down upon the cult that had raised it, its eyes glowed a hellish green.

The two leaders looked up at what they had raised in reverence.

"Lord Galamoth, we praise you. King of Time, the gods, and the Netherworld," the Jackal said before lowering his head once more.

"I have not yet achieved the Netherworld," the creature—Galamoth—growled, his voice guttural and much like a beast's might be if it could achieve human words.

"But you shall, our Dark King, the time is ripe," the other leader said, grinning upward.

Galamoth growled softly, more like a "hmm," and looked around at his surroundings. He recognized this place…it was unmistakable even though it was in ruins.

"How…did you raise me? Dracula sealed me in his castle, be it risen or not," he said, addressing his cult.

"Oh mighty Galamoth, the Throne…the Throne of Dracula was removed, allowing your resurrection. All signs are ready for you…it is time for you to take your rightful place as the true Dark Lord, and overthrow the usurper Dracula," the unmasked leader shouted up at his master.

At this, Galamoth's eyes snapped downwards and locked with the leader of the cult.

"The Throne is missing?" he demanded.

The leader who had spoken blinked and nodded. "Yes, sire. It is gone. Now your will may be done."

But Galamoth appeared to be in deep thought. He stared at his staff, which he had raised up to his eye level, and was slowly turning it around and around. Below, the cult looked around in confusion. Finally, their king stared back down at them.

"Where is the Throne?" he asked.

Now they stared around in fear. Finally, the unmasked leader—who seemed to have taken charge fully from the Jackal—shrugged.

"Forgive your incompetent servants, my king, for we know not where the Throne is," he said, bowing quickly.

The giant monster seemed to growl in annoyance.

"Never mind your prostrating. Find me the Throne, now!" he growled.

The two leaders blinked at them.

"But, my lord, your powers are great. Why would you need such a ridiculous symbol?" the Jackal asked.

Galamoth snarled and the cult cowered. The Jackal fell back into his prostrate position as Galamoth growled at them all.

"Never mind. Find it, and bring it to me!!" he shouted.

"Yes, Lord Galamoth," the cult all muttered up to their master.

However, the Jackal, alone, stood. He stared around at his fellow cult members before finally looking back up at his unholy master.

"But, my lord, how should we ever find it? There's virtually no chance," he said.

Somehow, the snarl on Galamoth's face became an evil smile. He held his staff out over the Jackal and a single crack of purple lightning struck, incinerating the Jackal before he could even cry out. The cult gasped.

"Any more questions?"

The cult was quick to bow with no response. Galamoth laughed in a loud, barking way.

"Go…go," he said as the cult began to disperse. "Bring me the Throne of the usurper Dracula…so that the world might despair!"

* * *

End Notes: Okay…so this isn't my favorite chapter so far. But I hope it was still good. We'll be back with Ria next chapter. Also, the reason the cult was Egyptian…well, to me, when I fought Galamoth in the game, he just looked sort of Egyptian to me. Well, please review!


	4. Best Laid Plans

A/N- Thanks for all the great reviews! I had been really worried about that last chapter, but everyone seemed to like it. Okay, now in this one, I have a little treat for everyone. ;)

* * *

Chapter 3- Best Laid Plans

Ria yawned, wide and openly, in the middle of her American History I class as Mr. Hamm—her rather portly, balding teacher that Ria couldn't help noticing as one usually does when they don't particularly care for a person (she had nothing personally against him; he was just rather pretentious)—was going on, rather dramatically, about the events following the colonization of Jamestown. Ria had hoped, in vain, that being in a different country, she would learn about their history instead of a history she had heard a million times before. However, this being a school for Americans living in Romania, it still taught an American curriculum. She shook her head, trying to keep the sleepy from showing in her eyes as Hamm waved his arms about in grand gestures, pointing to maps and notes he had made on the white board.

Keisha, dressed today in well fitting dark denim jeans and a white cowl neck knit sweater, leaned over to Ria. Her hair—curled a bit more today—fell over and brushed Ria's arm, catching her attention. Keisha smiled.

"Long night?" she whispered with a brow raised suggestively.

Ria blinked at her friend. She had had no friends back in America who had been so adept at making innocently dirty little jokes. She was still adjusting to Keisha's amazing ability to do so. She shook her head slowly.

"No, not really. Just couldn't sleep," she said, which was not a complete lie.

"Was it because of the earthquake? Weird, wasn't it?"

Ria nodded. Keisha had _no idea_ just how weird it had been. After the rumbling had stopped and the sky had ceased being on fire, Ria, Isaac, and Sara had taken off—with little thought—into the forest. They had moved at a dead run, barely noticing anything they passed. They had only stopped when they had reached Castlevania's ruins…and had found nothing. To this moment, Ria still had no idea why the sky and the earth had acted like that. Ria muttered some quick response agreeing with the weirdness of the earthquake, laughing inside at just how much she did agree.

Keisha shot back into an upright position as Mr. Hamm scanned the room like a hawk looking for a mouse, tugging at the lapels of his causal, hunter green jacket. Hamm never dressed "causal," and truth be told, the image of the man in jeans frightened Ria a little bit more than the flaming sky had. As soon as Hamm continued his impassioned lecture, Keisha leaned back over.

"So, weekend plans the same?" she asked.

Ria smiled. It was nice to have a friend who cared enough to remember patterns in your life. She nodded.

"Yeah, the search continues," she confirmed.

"Good luck," Keisha said, meaning it.

A week after Dracula's defeat, Ria had had an idea. She had recalled her mother's statement about her brother, Ria's uncle. She had managed to weasel a name out of Sophy at some point over the summer, one Jason Belmont. However, Sophy had had no idea where he was, having not seen or heard from him in years. So Ria had hit libraries, phone books, and anything else she could think of to find him. With no luck so far…so every weekend, she spent some time towards her goal of reuniting with her uncle. All done without her mother's knowledge, probably the one thing she was currently keeping a secret from her. She had no idea what Sophy's relationship with her brother had been, would be, and she feared being forbidden in her mini quest. So, only Isaac, Sara, and Keisha knew of her search. Sara her mother couldn't talk to, Isaac she had ordered not to tell, and Keisha…well, Ria had just known that her friend would not say anything.

"Thanks," Ria whispered.

"She's a good friend," Ria heard Sara say from behind her.

The young huntress glanced casually over her shoulder and had to fight giggling. Sara—through the whip—had travelled along to school with her today. She had after class—this one, specifically, being the last one of the day—business to take care of. The ghost woman was sitting, presumably crossed legged, although her skirts hid it, on the floor in the aisle just behind Ria and Keisha, who both sat at the very back of the class. She had never seen Sara sit this way…it seemed so…modern, causal…just so not Sara-like that it was funny. Ria looked away, a bright smile on her face.

"Is something funny, Miss Smith?" Hamm's voice rang across the room.

Oh, crap.

"No, sir," Ria said, wiping the grin from her face. She heard Keisha snort a giggle.

Hamm raised a bushy, brown brow. "You find disease and the death of Native Americans amusing, Miss Smith?"

Now Sara was laughing. However, to Ria, this was extremely _not_ funny. She pursed her lips together and shook her head.

"No, sir. It's horrible and tragic. Just as is the introduction of tobacco into the colonies. We forced them off their lands and killed them and I am truly not laughing at the plight of the Native Americans," Ria said.

The class tittered, and it was at the expression on Hamm's face. It was as if Ria had simply gotten up, walked calmly to the front of the class, and backhanded him right across the face. As the laughter grew, he cleared his expression and glared. Without saying another word to Ria, he continued the lecture. Keisha almost died from lack of oxygen due to silent laughter.

Only a few more minutes of Hamm's lecturing and the bell rang. Ria and Keisha all but flew out the door, and surely knocked over a person or two on the way. And they didn't slow until they had hit the asphalt of the school's parking lot, which was located behind its rather small gymnasium. Ria went to the driver's side of her Rio and Keisha went to her car—Ria had never really noticed what it was…only that it was blue—and they only had the width of Ria's car blocking them.

"So, what are you up to now? Got to head home?" Keisha asked, unlocking her door and tossing her backpack inside to the passenger's seat.

"No, not really. Why?" Ria asked, mimicking the move…only aiming for the backseat. Sara did not like sitting _in_ items, and the whip-bound woman had already slipped into the passenger's seat.

"Want to go hang at the café in town? I told my parents that I might be late, so I don't have to worry about calling for a little while."

Ria smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I have to go do some stuff for Mom at the museum. It'll probably keep me pretty busy. Maybe later this weekend?"

Keisha scoffed, but smiled. "Get a life, Smith," she said, slipping into her car and shutting the door.

Ria laughed and returned her friend's wave as she drove away. Then, she entered her own car, turning the engine over. She didn't shift to drive yet, allowing the car's heater to warm her a bit first. Ria rubbed her arms through her thin jacket and long sleeved blouse. Why she never wore warmer clothing was beyond her. It wasn't like she didn't have access to the weather or anything.

"Why didn't you go to the café with her, Ria?" Sara asked, staring over at her pupil.

Ria blinked, rubbing her lips together hoping to warm them.

"What?" she asked.

"Why didn't you go with Keisha, Ria? The Throne isn't hurting anyone right now. A cup of coffee with your friend wouldn't destroy the world, I'm sure," Sara said.

Ria put the car in drive, but did not move, placing her foot upon the break.

"I've got too much to do, and this Throne tops my list. I don't want it to cause any more trouble than I can help. Why are you on about this anyway, Sara?"

Sara shrugged. "It's just that lately all the people you ever spend time with is your mother, Isaac, and myself. Mostly me. You should be spending more time with people your age, Ria."

"How old were you when you died?" Ria asked, finally pulling out of the parking spot and onto the road.

"A little over twenty."

Ria smiled deviously as they began to drive towards the museum. "That's not much older than me."

Sara rolled her crystalline eyes. "_Living_ people your age, Adriana. Living."

Ria laughed as she turned on the CD player in her car. She looked up at her visor, which held a CD holder for the car, skimming through the discs there.

"Eyes on the road!" Sara squealed.

Ria glanced down and stopped just in time for a light to turn red. "I have it," she said.

She honestly had no idea why the prospect of a car crash scared Sara. After all, she was already dead, wasn't she? She sighed and pulled out a compilation album of the best of 1980s hits and shoved it in the player. The first track was Pat Benatar's "Invincible," which was a song Ria knew well. She began to sing it at the top of her lungs, beating the tune out on her steering wheel as she did so. Sara sighed and shook her head, staring out the window. Before long, the museum was in sight. She waved happily at the guard in the small guard station outside, who recognized her as Sophy's daughter and waved back. She parked as close to the front of the building as she could get…which still wasn't really that close. She was just not ready to be cold again, so she simply turned off her car and sat there for a moment. Leaning over, almost as an afterthought, she opened the glove compartment and removed a pair of green and purple fuzzy earmuffs. Ever since she had cut her blonde hair short once more, she found that her ears just would not retain heat. However, she felt that earmuffs were always a little childish, so she always refused to wear them to school…and in places she might run into a classmate. The museum held no danger of that, she was sure. She stretched the muffs, about to put them on, when Sara stopped her.

"What exactly do you plan to do here?" Sara asked.

"I'm just asking Mom, privately, about the Throne. That's it. Honestly, I think that's all I can do right now," she said.

Sara sighed and gave Ria a look that said that she agreed completely with this. Then, with a gesture towards the outside world, Ria placed the earmuffs on and both exited the car. She pulled out the small identification card her mother had given her so that she did not have to pay every time she wanted to visit her at work. The ticketholder smiled, waving her through with barely a glance at the card. Once inside, Ria noticed that the closing procedures had already begun, as people were being ushered out the front door. She passed by small children who asked their parents why "that lady" could come in while everyone else was leaving, and made her way quickly to her mother's office at the back. She knocked once on the wooden and fogged glass door that reminded Ria of a private detective's door more than a museum cataloguers'. Sophy's voice granted her entrance and Ria stepped inside.

The room was musty and always just put the words "brown and old" in Ria's mind. It was rather cluttered with various historical objects and artifacts, as well as two shelves packed full of different books. Ria had to squeeze her way into the only other seat in the office other than the cushy office chair her mother currently occupied. Sophy looked up from her magnifying glass, sweeping a lock of hair that had strayed from her messy ponytail/bun, and smiled at her daughter.

"Ria, what brings you here, kiddo?" she said brightly.

Ria returned her mother's smile as Sara made her way to a moderately clear corner of the office. Ria loved seeing her mother at work. Sophy truly loved her job and that fact clearly emanated from her. Ria opened her mouth to answer, when Sophy turned and glanced at the clock above her desk. When she looked back at her daughter, the look she gave her could clearly be classified as disapproving.

"Didn't school just let out a few minutes ago?" she asked.

"Yeah, but—" Ria said, knowing where the conversation was headed—and desperately trying to avoid it.

"That's several miles from here, Ria, and probably heavy with after school traffic. Did you drive or fly, young lady?" Sophy chided her.

Sara was laughing as Ria rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going _that_ fast, Mom."

"I know you can't hear me, Mrs. Smith, but she almost ran off the road too," Sara interjected.

Ria shot her a dirty look. Sophy crossed her arms in the way that moms sometimes do when they know that they _know_ their daughters.

"Is Sara agreeing with me?" she asked.

Ria let out a small growl of annoyance, which caused her mother to chuckle.

"You're not invincible, Ria. You of all people ought to know this," Sophy said, in tones that concluded the subject. "Now, you were saying…why are you here?"

"Yeah, Mom. Remember that question I wanted to ask you the other night?"

"Oh, I had forgotten. What is it, Ria? Is something wrong?"

However, just as Ria opened her mouth to actually ask her question, the door to Sophy's office opened and the new arrival entered with the words, "God damn it!" falling from his lips. Both women blinked up at the man, whose gold-rimmed glasses were slipping down his chocolate colored nose. He had his white button-up shirt undone at the top two buttons and looked as if he might have just come from pacing furiously around a room. He ran a hand over his cropped hair sheepishly as he took in the occupants of the room. He chuckled, which was just loaded with embarrassment, and smiled a small smile.

"Um…sorry, Sophy. I didn't realize you had company," he said apologetically. Then, looking over at Ria again, he blinked a couple of times, adding, "Is this Ria?"

"Yeah," Ria said, narrowing her eyes at the man. Sophy smiled.

"Yes, this is Ria. Ria, this is Doctor—" Sophy began, gesturing to the man, who cut her off.

"Darren. Please, just call me Darren, Ria. If I may call you Ria? It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said, holding out a hand.

Ria did not take it at first, instead giving him a half-smile. "Ah…so you were my mom's date the other night."

Both adults looked absolutely terrified suddenly as Darren's hand faltered. Ria shook her head and received his handshake, which brought a tiny smile to his face.

"Nice to meet you, Darren. I'm Ria…and if you break my mother's heart, I do have ways to extract my vengeance," Ria said, standing to look him in the eye…all the while smiling brightly.

"Ria!" Sophy squeaked, but Darren laughed.

"Don't worry, Ria. I have no intention to do so," he said, taking back his hand.

Sophy sighed and shook her head. "So, something was wrong, Darren?"

Darren's entire demeanor changed. He again looked like the perfect mixture of annoyance and anger. He removed his glasses, cleaned them on his shirt, and replaced them before replying.

"You would not believe it, Sophy. You just wouldn't believe the shi…crap…crap, I've had to hear today," he said, looking at Ria out of the corner of his eye.

Ria and Sara both giggled. Sophy, however, did not look amused.

"Well, what is it?"

"The damn Japanese government, that's what it freakin' is. They've sent some reps, and they're saying that that damn Throne is rightfully theirs," he said.

Sophy actually flew out of her chair. "What? No way in hell! How could it _possibly_ be theirs? I've poured through source after source, and all I've found—albeit just a little—places this country as the Throne's native land. And the forensics back me up!"

Ria had to fight hard not to react to this information. However, Sara was doing all the reacting for her. She had gasped at this reveal and clapped her hands over her mouth. Ria completely shared her feelings. If the Throne left…if the Japanese government—which she thought was weird and suspicious enough as it stood—took it, then who knows what could happen.

"Which is exactly what I told them you would say. I need you in that room, Sophy, to argue my case," Darren said.

Sophy nodded, turning to Ria. "Stay here, okay? I'll try not to be long," she said, just as she and Darren left the office.

Ria stood there, staring blankly at the door for a moment. Finally, she growled.

"Son of a bitch!" she swore, garnering a disapproving stare from Sara.

"What would the Japanese government want with the Throne of Dracula?" the ghostly woman asked as Ria sank back into her seat.

"That seems to be the question of the hour. But I hope Mom does a convincing argument. We can't let that Throne leave, Sara," Ria sighed.

At least thirty minutes passed. Every five minutes, Ria had to remind herself not to touch the items around her…that they were probably fragile and that her mother probably had them in a specific order. At the fifteen minute mark, Ria voiced her worries out loud, again, to Sara, who again agreed with her. Ria was nearly at the nail-biting point when Sophy re-entered her office, looking red-faced and pissed.

"I _cannot_ believe the audacity of that man!" she hissed, slamming the door behind her.

"Darren?" Ria asked sheepishly as she stood.

"What? No, the rep from the Japanese government. I'm telling you, Ria, everything he told me was utter crap. Not a word of it had any truth behind it. I swear it, but there it was…he had all these papers backing his reasoning. I promise you, child, that they were forged!"

"Are they taking the Throne?" Ria asked, a lump rising in her throat.

"Not yet, they're not. And not at all, if I can help it. And now, on top of that, the Throne is…I don't know…doing something weird."

Ria blinked. "Weird?"

"Yeah…I mean, this is going to sound just crazy…but it's like it's radiating something…but you can't see it. But everyone can feel it…we all mentioned it, even the Japanese."

Crap, Ria thought. Crap, crap, crap, and double crap with some extra crap on top. "Weird" was never good. Not when Dracula or any of his items were concerned. Sara and Ria exchanged a glance that went unnoticed by Sophy.

"Look, dear, I'm going to be home late, it seems. I'm sorry…but if you could just see yourself out. No reason for you to waste your night here," Sophy said, opening the office door. "You can ask that question when I get home, whenever that'll be, I promise."

Ria nodded, slipping out past her mother with Sara on her heels. She turned, trying to give her mother an encouraging smile.

"Good luck, Mom," she said.

She wanted desperately to add something about the urgency of keeping the Throne in Romania within the museum's grasp. However, the serious, determined look Sophy returned to her told Ria that such a statement was unnecessary. The office door closed softly on Ria as she turned and began her exit through the museum…

And stopped. Sara stared at her.

"What are you doing, Ria?" she groaned.

"I'm taking a detour to look at that Throne," she said, pulling out her earmuffs…she had to look like she was exiting at all times in case she ran into museum personal.

She weaved her way down a few halls, trying to avoid the last few stragglers in the museum and the last security guards locking up. Finally, she came to the point where her current hall connected with the display floor that the Throne was located on. She froze, peeking around the corner at the Throne.

Standing before it, looking up, was a man. His hair was long—coming just off his shoulders—thick, and black. Anyone in passing might have even mistaken him as a woman from this alone, but there was just something overly masculine about the way he stood. He was dressed in an expensive looking black suit, and had one hand shoved into a pocket in his pants. Ria blinked.

She should turn around. She knew that she should. She couldn't run the risk of being seen by this man, who was so obviously the representative that Darren and her mother had spoken of. However…she could feel what her mother had been talking about, even from the distance she was at. The Throne was indeed radiating…something. Ria couldn't quite put her finger on it…but it wasn't a good feeling that she got from this emanating. She had to get closer…the man _did_ look rather…involved with staring at the Throne.

"Ria…" Sara said warningly.

"I'm going for it," Ria whispered as Sara sighed and muttered, "I knew it."

Ria shot out from the corridor, ducking and weaving as quietly as possible—which she was sure was pretty damn quiet—hiding behind every display between her and the Throne. Finally, she came to the point where there was a wide open space passing directly in front of the Throne…and directly behind the Japanese representative. With a deep breath, she began her "long walk." She slowed only for a moment, eyeing the evil seat of Dracula's power. The emanating was making her bones ache dreadfully and her teeth chatter ever so slightly. This thing was evil…and its emanations were no different. She put speed back into her walk, sure that she was going to make it past the official…just as he turned and collided into her.

Ria felt her earmuffs slip from her grasp, but did not hear them hit the floor. Instead, she looked up and found herself staring into the pale complexion and crystal blue eyes of the Japanese official. He smiled briefly down at her—for he was quite a bit taller than she was…at least two heads so.

"I apologize for my…clumsiness, Miss," he said, his voice deep, rich, and holding no hint of any sort of accent.

Ria blinked and shook her head. "No…it was my fault," she said.

He smiled again, producing her earmuffs and offering them to her. "Your muffs, Miss?"

She bit her lip sheepishly and took them, thanking him again. He raised a dark brow at her and crossed his arms.

"You're not a museum guest," he said, and it was not a question, although Ria shook her head. "You're…Sophy Smith's daughter?"

Ria blinked. "How do you know my mother?"

He laughed. "A suspicious sort, I see. I just spoke with her. I'm sure she probably mentioned me…though not in any favorable light. I am a representative of the Japanese government."

Ria nodded, fighting a smile. "Well, you're right about that. Not favorable at all."

The man laughed again, and Ria had quite decided that, no matter what nefarious schemes he might have for the Throne, she liked his laugh. When he stopped, he was smiling at her one more.

"May I ask your name, Miss Smith?"

"…Adriana. Ria, for short," she said, offering him her hand.

He blinked. Once and quickly…but it was if some strange expression, thought, or emotion had passed his face by in this moment. However, he was smiling again as he took her hand and shook it lightly.

"And your name is?" Ria pressed politely.

"Ha, you are quite an intelligent young woman. My name is Arikado. Genya Arikado. And if you may permit me more questions, might I ask what attracts a young woman to this…rather grotesque piece?" he said, turning and gesturing to the Throne.

Ria crossed her arms as she turned to stare at the evil thing with him. "And how do you know that that's what I was staring at?"

"I noticed the way your face was turned when we collided."

"Oh. Um, well…I just find it…morbidly fascinating, I guess. Like a train or car wreck. You can't just _not_ look, you know?"

He nodded, all humor gone from his face as he looked on at the object. "Yes…I suppose that would be an accurate description…as one might go."

He went silent then, simply staring at the Throne again, as if he had some sort of personal vendetta against it. Ria took this chance to glance over at Sara, who looked rather frantically worried and kept saying that they should leave. Ria had learned her lesson from experiences past. Although she found the man quite nice, she had still not dropped her guard entirely. After all, Dracula, masquerading as his son, had been all puppy dogs and candy canes…albeit strange puppy dogs and candy canes. But she was not going to give up an opportunity to speak with the man trying to take the Throne away so easily.

"Why do you want it?" she asked, rather bluntly…and it even seemed to take him by surprise.

"Why does my government want the Throne? Because it is rightfully theirs, Miss Ria."

But he knew she was not convinced. However, before Ria could fire another question at him, Darren approached, a rather confused look on his face.

"Ria? Your mom said you'd gone home," he said.

"Oh, um, yeah, I was…but…" Ria said, flailing for an excuse.

"Oh, it is my fault, I'm afraid. I collided quite carelessly with Miss Smith, and then I'm afraid I was rather selfish with her time. But, I am forgiven, I hope?" Arikado said, turning to her with a smile.

Ria nodded. Darren sighed. "Okay, well, maybe you ought to go, Ria. Drive safely," he said.

Ria lost no time in making her exit. As soon as she had cleared the museum's doors, she was cursing again, and this time Sara made a point of verbally chastising her for it.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Ria said, climbing into her car, cranking it, and staring over at Sara. "Every time I get this close—" she held her thumb and index finger just spaces away from one another, "—to finding out about that damn Throne, I'm snatched away or stopped or something! I can't take it anymore! No more Miss Nice Guy!"

Ria almost floored it out of the museum, causing Sara to cry out. When the ghost woman had calmed herself, she glanced over at her pupil.

"Well, what is there to do about it?" she asked.

"I'll tell you what," Ria said. "Tonight…I'm breaking into that museum!"

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End Notes: Whoa, frickin' long chapter. I hope everyone doesn't mind. Also, I hope everyone enjoyed their "treat." Please review!


	5. Close Encounters of the Illegal Kind

A/N- Thanks for all the wonderful reviews (and I got some great ones for that last chapter *squees happily*)! Now, a little something that's been in my head for some time. I hadn't put it out there yet because I hadn't really had it solidify as a fact as yet. A review brought it to light, thanks to HappyDragon411, and I finally realized that it was true. Enough with the vagueness, huh? Well, the simple fact is the subject of the timeline of this series. I picture Untested taking place in the 2008-2009 timeframe (even though it was started in 2005…I don't think I made any sort of pop culture reference in any of the earlier chapters of that fic that will mess with this assumption). However, I don't picture any of the events from the Sorrow games—including the 1999 defeat of Dracula—having taken place yet. To sum up, those events haven't been deleted from this story's personal timeline…just pushed to happening later. I try not to mess with what happens in a timeline…just when it happens. Anyhow, that's not important in the current situation, but it probably will be later. Well, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

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Chapter 4- Close Encounters of the Illegal Kind

Ria was snuggly parked in Belmont Manor's driveway and halfway inside of her home when Sara finally finished her lecture on how wrong it would be for her to break into the museum. The summation of the whole speech was simply that as well: It's wrong. She sighed as her ghostly companion crossed her arms, most childishly, and huffed. Turning from her place at the front door, she shrugged.

"It's the only way, Sara. That Throne's acting weird, and I'm not about to sit around on my butt, allowing the bad guys to make the first move. Not this time," she said.

Ria shoved her key into the lock and gave it a quick turn, removing it and dashing inside. Sara was not far behind, her arms now sternly and stiffly at her sides.

"It's just wrong, Ria," she reiterated while Ria groaned her way into the living room.

"I heard you the first time. It's wrong. It's bad. It's against the law. It could get a lot of people, myself included, in trouble. But it's the only way. If there was another one, believe me, I'd do it."

Isaac popped up from his place on the couch, switching off the television. With a brow arched much like a cartoon villain hatching a plan, he gazed over at Ria. Slowly and quite agilely, he pulled himself over the back of the sofa and landed, with barely a thud, upright and attentively staring at Ria.

"What's bad, wrong, and against the law?" he asked, a devious smile playing about his lips.

"Don't you even mention it to him, Ria! In fact, just drop the whole idea, I'm begging you!" Sara said quickly, glancing between the red headed devil forger and the young vampire huntress.

"Mom didn't beat me home by some miracle, did she?" Ria asked, glancing around.

Isaac shook his head.

"Good," Ria said, nodding her head decisively. "Isaac, tonight I'm breaking into the museum to get a closer look at that Throne…being that I haven't been able to glean any information about it any other way. And now there are some people from Japan who want to take it with them. So, I'm doing it."

Isaac's grin was Cheshire as he crossed his arms across his black-clad chest.

"Count me in," he said, almost a little too gleefully.

"Of course," Sara sighed throwing her hands up and putting her back to them. Ria smiled.

"I was hoping you were going to say that."

"Yeah, because there was no way in Hell you were going to be able to pull this off by yourself…with no offense meant to Sara," Isaac responded.

Ria glared at him. "And what do you meant by that, precisely?"

He shrugged. "Nothing…just that you're one of those…_good_ good guys. I'm actually quite amazed you even thought of this to begin with. Of course, you've probably already decided _not_ to steal the Throne…but anyways…"

Ria growled and shoved a finger in his face, wagging it like she was scolding him. "And it's a damn good thing I have! After all, how would _you_ propose to sneak a throne twice the size of yourself out of that place with no one noticing? Hmm?"

Isaac threw up his hands defensively. "I didn't mean anything by it, Ria. Besides, I would have thought that me calling you one of the best of the good would have been taken as a compliment."

Ria now crossed her arms and sniffed a bit indignantly. "I did…it's just—"

"Hate to interrupt this conversation, Ria, but how do you intend, exactly, to go through with this? The ins and outs of your little plan?" Sara asked.

Ria turned towards her ghostly friend and smiled. "That's the easy part. I have all of mom's security codes. The museum puts on the act that they have twenty-four hour, live security. But in reality, it's all done by alarms, and I have all the codes we'll need to disarm them. Well, all but one, but I can get that later when she comes home. We'll have to wait for dark, anyway."

"Well planned," Isaac said, impressed.

"Thank you," she beamed at him, causing Sara to sigh and shake her head.

"How do we get pass your mother?" he asked, leaning back on the sofa.

"Simple. We just tell her that the two of you think I need some extra training time. Once I tell her that I have no homework, it'll be a cinch."

"_Do_ you have homework, or are you going to start lying about that?" Sara hissed.

"No," Ria said, mockingly, "I do not have homework. I have a lot of tests coming up, and most of my teachers try not to bog us down too badly if they know they're going to spring a killer test on us. Their form of mercy, I guess."

"Okay," Sara said, nodding. "Fine. How did you get those codes?"

"What?" Ria asked, as if she had not heard her correctly.

Sara shook a finger at her. "No, no. Don't play innocent. How did you get Sophy's codes to the museum? And how do you intend to get the one you're still missing?"

"Sh-she told me."

"Not convincing in the least…this lying thing isn't going to stick with you, is it?" Isaac smirked, taking a wild guess at the conversation between trainer and trainee.

"_Where_?" Sara demanded.

Ria shrugged. "I got curious after I learned about how the security really worked at the museum, so I snuck the code. I never intended to use it. Lucky, though, that I did that now."

Sara closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them again, she shook her head. "Fine. I won't argue anymore. But our next training session might be one on the subject of morality. I won't have a huntress under my tutelage sully the good name Belmont by stealing and the like."

Ria groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine…and I'll promise. And besides, I said we weren't taking anything. No more dancing over the line of the law unless it is absolutely necessary."

"This isn't absolutely necessary!"

"Tomato, tomahto."

"If you and your invisible friend are quite finished, I have found a flaw in an otherwise good plan," Isaac said.

"What now?" Ria asked.

"We're not stealing the Throne, right?"

"Right…we can't exactly sneak it out. And I don't plan to take my car…can't afford to have it on any cameras…it wouldn't fit in that thing away."

"So…what exactly are we doing?"

Ria blinked. She opened her mouth to answer…only to blink again. She crossed her arms and exchanged a glance with Sara. She had not thought that far ahead. And apparently, the look she gave Isaac told him as much. The devil forger sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Good thing I'm going," he said, sighing. "I'll bring some materials with me. Maybe we can do a spell or something on it."

"Stop it from doing that weird, radiating thing it's doing?" Ria asked.

Isaac's face twisted into one of confusion. "What radiating thing?"

Ria opened her mouth to explain, but was cut off by the sound of the front door opening. She turned and made her way into the foyer in time to see her mother remove her shoes. Sophy's hair had completely fallen out of place now and was just lying wherever it had landed. She looked rather weary and like she might be in some sort of pain. Ria's eyes widened at the sight.

"Are you okay, Mom? How did everything go?" she asked, following her into the living room.

Sophy greeted Isaac, asked Ria if Sara was present, and when Ria had confirmed, greeted her as well. Finally, she sank down onto the couch as Ria slid into the open seat beside her.

"Those damn reps aren't giving up without a fight, that's for sure. I'm throwing everything I've got at them, and they keep throwing it right back, plus some. But we haven't lost that Throne yet, and it's looking like both of us are standing on equal footing," Sophy explained, lying her head back.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Ria asked.

Sophy smiled as she closed her eyes. "Yes, actually, it is. If nothing else, it proves your old mom can go a few rounds with government officials and still manage to hold her own. I left it in Darren's hands, at least until tomorrow…which, God help him, he's not very good at negotiating at all."

Ria pursed her lips. Tonight couldn't come fast enough, if what Sophy said about Darren was true. Sophy turned to her daughter and narrowed her eyes at her worried expression. Ria quickly replaced it with a bright smile.

"I'm sure you guys will win, Mom. I know that the two of us never really pursued fights with one another…but I remember the little scuffs you would get into with Dad," Ria paused here, laughing. "I don't think he ever won."

Sophy was laughing too, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Sighing, she patted Ria's hand.

"I think you're right, dear. Now…what do you want for dinner?"

Ria shook her head. "I can cook, you know. I know you're tired."

This garnered strange looks from both Isaac and Sara, but neither said anything. Sophy shook her head and stood, a light smile on her face.

"No. I need to do something else to get my mind off those reps. Cutting something seems like a good way to release some tension."

"In days long passed," Isaac piped up, "I've found that to be quite effective."

Sophy laughed while Ria stared at him, trying her best not to imagine what that statement could possible mean. Sophy patted his arm and moved past him, making her way into the kitchen. Once there, she called back into the living room to Ria.

"How about…pork chops? Maybe with some mashed potatoes and whatever canned vegetable we have up here," she said, as the group in the living room heard a cabinet open.

"That sounds great, Mom," Ria answered.

She paused, looking about the room. She knew that all the codes to the museum were kept in her mother's purse, because it was one of the few things Sophy never let leave her sights while she was out of the house. However, Ria could find no sign of it.

"When are you going to get the code you're missing?" Sara asked, peeking around the corner, across the foyer, and into the kitchen.

"That's what I'm looking for," Ria hissed. Louder, she added to Sophy, "Uh…Mom? Where's your purse?"

She heard her mother groan. "Damn it. I must have left it in my car. Will you run out and get it for me?"

"Convenient," she muttered to her two companions before adding, "sure, Mom!"

She lost no time. As she had not yet removed her shoes herself, she dashed outside to her mother's blue car, a vehicle only slightly bigger than Ria's Rio. Opening the passenger side's front door, she located the huge, black leather purse quickly. However, she kept it out of sight as she began to rifle through it, trying to make it seem as if she had not found it yet.

Receipts and invoices littered, almost lined, the bottom of the purse. Her mother's wallet was huge, almost like a mini purse in itself, and it was hard to move around. She did not want to remove it for fear of accidently forgetting it. That would most definitely rouse Sophy's suspicions Ria made the quickest work of the purse that she could, finally locating the small paper with the codes— she knew that Sophy had deliberately kept the codes on a piece of paper that would look like garbage. She carefully unfolded it and grinned when she found, written in nearly fresh ink, the code to the dais upon which Dracula's Throne sat. The museum's overall code, she had already and had memorized, which made her job that much easier. Digging further into her mother's purse, she found a black ink pen and quickly jotted the four digit code down on her upper left forearm, letting the long sleeve of her blouse hide it. Then, she put all the items back in place, dragging the purse out of the car, and entered the house.

"Got it!" Ria called.

"Good, thank you. Put it somewhere in the living room, okay?" Sophy called over the sound of running water.

Ria made her way back into the living room, where Isaac and Sara both waited patiently for her. She deposited the purse beside the recliner and turned to her companions.

"Got it," she muttered.

Isaac grinned. "Well done."

"Don't encourage her!" Sara snapped.

Ria laughed and Isaac gave her a questioning glance. She shook her head to indicate that it was nothing important. Sighing, she glanced over her shoulder towards the kitchen. She whispered her next statement as she turned by to her soon-to-be partners in crime (or partner, if the police did happen to catch them…as Sara would _hardly_ be counted).

"We'll have dinner as usual. We have to wait until sundown, so we're in no real rush. Then, we'll tell Mom that I need to train and leave. Understand?"

Isaac rolled his eyes. "It's not complicated, Ria. I think we've got it."

Sara nodded in agreement. Ria scoffed. "Well, excuse me!"

Dinner was ready in thirty minutes, and they took it in the dining room located on the other side of the kitchen. The table that occupied the nicely decorated room (complete with sparkling crystal chandelier in the center) was of a nice, chestnut colored wood, rectangular, and easily seated eight people. The room itself was decorated with simple paintings of still life and fields and done in rich colors of burgundy and more chestnut. Sophy always sat at the head of the table, while the rest of the family sat around her. Sara often chose not to attend dinner, and Ria suspected that part of the reason was that she really missed eating. However, due to their nocturnal plans, she chose to attend, taking a seat beside her trainee. Ria sat at Sophy's right, and Isaac took his place across from her while Sophy set the food out. Once all was settled, the family uttered a quick prayer. The Smith family was not always the most religious of families, but dinnertime prayers had always been insisted upon by both Sophy and Jared. And ever since her encounters with the supernatural, Ria felt they had taken on a whole new meaning.

The prayers were always quick and the serving of the food onto the individual plates was always quicker. Before long, light conversation filled the dining room while Sophy, Ria, and Isaac all but stuffed their faces with the meal of seasoned pork chops, buttery mashed potatoes, and savory carrots. If one thing was true above all else, it was that Sophy Smith could _cook_. It was a shame to Ria every time she had to rush through her dinner—much like she had to tonight—instead of savoring her mother's meals. But, things had to be done. So, she shoved the last bite of carrot into her mouth as Isaac shoved his last bit of pork chop into his, and, simultaneously, they both pushed back and stood from the table. Sophy blinked and looked up at them both.

"What's going on? That was rather well choreographed," she asked.

Ria gave her mom a small smile and said, "Sorry, but Isaac and Sara both think I'm in the desperate need for some training tonight."

"_More_ training?"

Ria nodded. "Sara wants to start me on physical training…so the next time I get the Vampire Killer knocked from my hand, I can stand on my own long enough to get it back."

Sophy's brow furrowed, but she gave a short nod anyway. "I'm tired anyway. I'm probably going to head off to bed soon anyhow. Try not to stay out too late, okay?"

Ria bobbed a little okay, grabbed her bag—containing the Vampire Killer, and exited Belmont Manor. Isaac, quick as ever on his feet, was even quicker in thought as he faked "forgetting something" and dashed back inside for some spell supplies. Sara found even herself impressed with his presence of thought as the three of them made their way to the museum.

There was a heavy chill that had fallen along with the new night, and Ria and Isaac both shivered. It appeared that they had both been too preoccupied with thoughts of illegal activity to remember something as simple as a coat. Sara wore a smug smile on her face at their quaking forms, as if this was God's Divine Punishment for breaking the law. But Ria nor Isaac would give the whip-bound woman the satisfaction of complaining and instead filled the time walking to the museum by idling chatting and making spell arrangements…and it was a _long_ walk to the museum. After what seemed like forever, and after Ria was sure she would never be able to feel her face again, they arrived at the small parking lot on the buildings east side…the same parking lot Ria had parked in only hours earlier.

"Now what?" Isaac said through chattering teeth as he desperately clung to the single spellbook he had brought with him.

"It's not like I've done this before!" Ria snapped. "I guess we ought to avoid the cameras."

"And they are where?"

Ria went blank. Isaac sighed. Then, the young woman snapped her fingers.

"Sara, how far away from me can you go?" she asked.

Sara shrugged. "I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, you can go ahead and tell us where the cameras are…that way, we can figure out where the blind spots are."

"Good idea," Isaac muttered, and Ria nodded, allowing herself a small smile.

"Why can't Isaac just magick them or something?" Sara huffed.

Ria blinked. "That's not a bad question," she muttered. Turning to him, she added, "Do you think you could magick the cameras, Isaac?"

"I'd still have to know where they were at. It's never safe to just throw magic around, willy-nilly."

Ria chose to ignore the fact that Isaac had just uttered "willy-nilly," and, instead, turned back to Sara, who rolled her eyes and agreed to her previous idea without Ria having to say anything more. Sara vanished, and, without much thought, Isaac and Ria huddled together…both for warmth and to help keep themselves out of sight. Ria craned her neck, looking all around to make sure they weren't already in the pathway of a camera when she came eye-to-eye with Isaac, who was staring down at her. She jumped, shaking her head.

"Sorry," he said, looking away quickly.

"Stare, much? You scared the crap out of me!" Ria hissed.

"Who else would you have expected to be staring at you?" he asked, looking back at her now, one of his sly smiles in place.

She rolled her eyes. Before she could reply, Sara reappeared.

"There's a straight pathway from right where we're at, to a side door. If Isaac knows any spells that can hide us on those things, we'll be set. I even checked inside…fewer cameras. I think there's only two between us and the Throne. Apparently, this place is pretty confident in its indoor security," she said, pointing the way as she spoke.

Ria repeated Sara's information to Isaac, who nodded. He turned as Ria pointed out each camera, muttering words and flinging brightly colored bits of light at each one, all the way to the side door that would be their entrance.

"I cursed them…they'll be completely blank when reviewed," Isaac explained as the trio trekked across the parking lot.

"How do you know this stuff? I mean, when did you get a chance to try this out?" Ria asked as they came to a halt at the side door.

"I didn't do a lot of searching for Dracula when Walter had me under his control, but I did do _some_," he explained.

Ria huffed out a tiny laugh as her attention fell upon a small, white box with a linear digital screen and a number pad upon it. She smiled and typed in the first security code she had, the one for the building's entrances. A small buzz, followed by the sound of a lock undoing itself, and she yanked on the door, which came open with little resistance. Isaac then cursed the first of the two cameras as Ria pointed the way to the Throne. They only paused again when they reached the second camera—again, so that Isaac could curse it. Finally, they came to an almost skidding stop in front of Dracula's Throne.

Isaac's eyes widened to almost double the size of saucers as Ria went to the back of the display to type in the code in the security box. When she reappeared to the front, she noticed that Sara was wearing a similar expression. She shook her head.

"Now aren't you glad I said that we should do this?" Ria asked of her ghostly trainer.

Much to her surprise, Sara nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I am, actually. Oh, Ria…it's gotten worse. Can you feel it?"

She chose not to answer, instead focusing on the slightly sick feeling in her stomach and the quaking bones that she thought had been a result of the nervousness of committing her first felony. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that Sara was right. The evil radiating the Throne was doing was much worse, and the cause of her symptoms…she bit her lip as she looked to Isaac, whose eyes were all but locked upon the grotesque bone sculpture.

"What is it?" Ria asked, lightly placing a hand on his arm, to gain his attention.

He jumped a little, finally looking down at her, blinking to reduce his widened eyes.

"It's bad, that's what it is. It's radiating because it's been removed from Castlevania…and wants to go back. It's feeling its separation and is going to make the world pay for it."

"What do you mean, 'make the world pay for it'?"

Isaac shook his head slowly. "Don't tell me you don't feel what it's doing to us. That nausea feeling, and that feeling like you just can't stop shaking."

Ria nodded. "And?"

"And it'll only get worse. We've got to stop this," Isaac said, kneeling to the floor and opening his spellbook.

Ria knelt with him and watched as he flipped through yellowed page after yellowed page, herself unable to read the small writing—because it was all handwritten in a tightly-packed script—and wondering how Isaac could read it.

"What do you mean, 'worse'? Deadly worse?" Ria asked.

"It's something belonging to Dracula," Isaac replied, without looking up from his task at hand. "Would you expect anything less?"

Couldn't argue with that. So, Ria fell silent as Isaac continued his search. Finally, with a small, "aha," he rose back to his feet, with Ria following suit.

"I can't stop it myself. Only real way to stop it is to return it to Castlevania…have no idea how it survived the crumbling of the castle anyhow, but..." He muttered, holding the book with one hand and raising the other towards the Throne.

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm going to put a spell on it to…well, dampen its radiating, for lack of a better term. It won't stop it, but it'll slow it down until we can figure out what else we can do. After all, like you said, it's not like we can just walk out of here lugging this thing on our backs. Now, quiet. I need to concentrate."

Ria crossed her arms as Isaac began to chant in Latin, circling his free hand in front of the Throne. A small ball of yellowish-green light was beginning to form in the center of his circle, and Ria's eyes hurt to stare at it. However, she was trying her best not to look at the Throne, either. So, instead, she turned her attention upon Sara, who looked decidedly worried. She cocked a questioning brow at her ghostly friend, who shrugged.

"Just nervous. The Throne's affecting me too," she said, by way of explanation.

Ria nodded knowingly. Although Isaac's spell _was_ slowly working…the radiating was still leaving her with a bit of an uneasy feeling overall. Of course, that could just be due to the fact that she now had to find a way to move this horrible object back to its original place.

Suddenly, Isaac stopped chanting, an odd look on his face. Ria felt her stomach clench with worry.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong, Isaac?"

"There's…two, different tracking spells on this Throne. I'm getting the feeling that we came just in time, Ria."

Ria's eyes widened as Sara gasped. "Can you stop it?"

Isaac nodded. "But…do we do one or both?"

She didn't need much time to think on that. "Both. Better safe than sorry."

With a curt nod, Isaac resumed his chanting. Moments later, the light that had been hanging in his hand-circle flew to the Throne, imbedding itself in the back of it and disappearing after a faint glow.

"Done," Isaac announced, snapping the book shut.

"Good, let's—"

But before Ria could say, "go," the loud, unmistakable wail of an alarm system being set off filled the building. Ria's body was quaking again, and she was sure it had nothing to do with the Throne this time.

"I thought you disabled the alarms?" Isaac shouted at her.

"The building's and the Throne's, yeah! But every display has its own individual alarm!" she shouted back.

"Can we just go?" Sara yelled, pointing at the way they had entered.

Ria nodded, shouting, "This way!"

The three of them took off at a run down the two corridors they had entered by and slammed their way through the side door. Panting for breath, they dared not stop until they had reached the edge of the parking lot, which was covered by shadow.

Isaac placed his hands on his knees and huffed and puffed so much that it seemed he might just fall over. Ria just sat upon the ground, doing the same, while Sara was ever unaffected.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" she asked, glancing back and forth between the two huffing for air and the museum, whose alarms were still blaring.

"Just…one more…minute," Ria gasped as Isaac nodded emphatically.

A noise like shoes landing on pavement sounded off to their right, causing Ria to leap to her feet and reach for her whip. She jumped to Isaac's right as the two—both with weapons in hand—stared off into the darkness, trying to find the source of the sound. A flutter of what looked like black cloth disappeared between two buildings in the distance, paying Ria and Isaac no mind. Isaac put away his weapon.

"Let's get out of here before the police get here," he said.

"No argument here."

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End Notes: Another massive chapter. I apologize. It seriously took me at least two weeks to write this thing. Maybe a little less…but not much. I hope it was all right. Oh, also, I have no idea what a museum's security system is really like. I just made this one up. Hope everyone was okay with that. Well, the museum break-in was…sort of successful. Where will Ria go from here? Please review!

P.S.- I have a new poll up on my profile. Please stop by and vote!


	6. High Anxiety Days

A/N- Long time no see! I do apologize for that. I was trying desperately to finish up a Vampire Hunter D fanfic that I had going. Good news; it is now complete! It had about 9 chapters left when I started to really focus on getting it done, so I feel pretty accomplished. Anyhow, I hope you'll all forgive me for this wait. Please enjoy!

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Chapter 5- High Anxiety Days

Ria awoke the next morning to a chorus of voices calling her name. She groaned, rolled over in her double-sized bed, and in her half-asleep daze, tried to shut off her alarm clock. It took a few more moments, along with some fumbling with pushing her matted hair out of her eyes, before she recognized the voices as those of her mother's, Isaac's, and Sara's. She opened her mouth, about to call out that she was awake now and to ask what they all wanted with her at—she glanced at the clock and her eyes widened—eight o'clock on a Saturday morning. However, she found her throat dry from a night spent sleeping with her mouth wide open. She coughed and made the attempt to put herself on her feet. She had just managed to get all the sleepiness from her eyes when a knock sounded on her bedroom door. She granted her early morning visitor the right to enter.

The door swung open to a fully dressed and very frantic-looking Sophy, Sara trailing behind her. Although her ghostly state permitted Sara to travel anywhere, even through doors and walls, she exercised "manners" in choosing not to do so unless forced. Otherwise, she might have helped a little more in waking Ria.

"Sorry, I know you were out late training, Ria, but I've got to go into work this morning. Emergency," Sophy explained.

Ria was seconds away from snapping that that had nothing to do with her, when Sara—thankfully—intervened and said, "Ria… our break-in." She then blinked, her lips pressing tightly together.

"Why? I thought you had the weekends off? Some big find?" Ria said, hoping that would be an adequate excuse as to why her eyes had suddenly widened as well.

Sophy scoffed, turning on heel and marching out of her daughter's bedroom. Ria and Sara followed.

"I wish. No, it would seem that someone broke into the museum last night. The last code put into the building to lock it down was mine, and the cops want to ask me some questions."

They only stopped walking when they reached the front door of the manor. They were now joined by Isaac, fully dressed in his usual black attire. He gave a single glance to Ria and snorted softly with laughter. It was at that moment that she realized that she was still wearing her two-piece, flannel pajamas and blushed deeply. Since Isaac had started living with them, Ria had made it a point to either be fully dressed upon leaving her room or covered by a robe on her way to the bathroom. This wasn't usually a problem on the weekdays, when she had to get up earlier than Isaac did for school. She hissed a "shut up" in his direction just before Sophy turned to face the group.

"I'll probably be gone for quite some time today. I'll probably have to do a full inventory to make sure that nothing was taken. So far, Darren says that he's found nothing missing."

"Mom, they're not suspecting you, are they? Because of your code?" Ria asked, her voice saturated with concern.

… And guilt. If Sophy got in trouble for something she had done… well, words wouldn't describe the level of horrible that Ria would feel then. It would be just as bad as her kidnapping by Walter—being that she would count both the events as her fault. A quick glance to Isaac and Sara told her that her two compatriots in crime shared this feeling. However, Sophy smiled and shook her head.

"No, the alarm codes aren't time-stamped, and I was the last one to leave. Our security cameras _are_ time-stamped, and the footage they managed to record before conveniently messing up was me leaving way before the alarm sounded. Darren made it a point to show the police the footage. Which reminds me… Ria, I need you home tonight."

Ria's brow arched before she could even give a sigh of relief that her mother was safe from suspicion. "Why? What's going on?"

"Darren's coming over for dinner. I want you to meet him, formally. You too, Isaac," Sophy added, with a smile in the forge master's direction.

Isaac grinned, "I'm flattered."

"The museum meeting didn't count?" Ria asked, her voice going involuntarily quiet.

Sophy turned her attention back to her daughter and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, dear, but you deserve to meet him under better circumstances. He's very excited about coming over. And I'm excited to have him over. Now, be good. Don't destroy the house. And don't fight any vampires while I'm gone."

Ria laughed. "I can promise to all but the last."

Sophy gave her daughter a questionable look. Ria shrugged.

"Can't help it if they should show up here looking for a fight."

"True," Sophy laughed, but it sounded a little forced.

Then, with a little wave, she left, leaving Ria to shut the door behind her. As her mother's car pulled away, she sighed, turning to lean and slide down the door. Her stomach was twisted and knotted, despite her mother's supposedly guaranteed safety from suspicion. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she just felt wound tight all of a sudden… which was a horrible feeling for only having been awake for fifteen minutes. She glanced up at Isaac, who crossed his arms across his chest and shook his head.

"That could have been worse, right?" he asked, offering Ria a hand.

She took it and allowed him to pull her back to her feet. Sara sighed.

"Now do you understand why I didn't want to break into that place?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, Sara, I get it. But even you admitted last night that you were glad we did," Ria snapped.

Sara nodded in defeat, obviously unable to argue. Ria muttered a quick apology to her ghostly friend, who waved it off as nothing. Ria then announced that she was going to get dressed and disappeared back up the manor's main staircase.

She reappeared a little over forty minutes later, after having showered and dressed herself in a pair of fading black jeans and a white, long-sleeved cotton shirt that had a simple heart pictured over her chest. Isaac was seated in the recliner in the living room, tending to his spear by sharpening its blades, while Sara was seated on the couch looking on. Ria slid into a seat beside her friend and kicked up one of her feet, resting it on the front of her seat. She began to reach for the T.V. remove, but stopped, shaking her head. Thoughts swirled like a colorless vortex in Ria's mind, and T.V. just wouldn't help that, she knew. So many problems floated in and out of her focus as she leaned back. But the thought of her mother cleaning up the mess from the break-in _she_ had caused pushed thoughts of the Throne to the forefront most often. Sara raised a brow at her.

"What's wrong, Ria?" she asked.

"I'm thinking about last night," she said.

"What about it?" Isaac asked, without looking up.

Ria sighed and shook her head. She turned in her seat so that her back was resting on the arm of the couch, crossing her legs "Indian style" in front of herself.

"Well, we didn't exactly get a lot of answers, did we? All we got were more questions. Like, who was that random person that was in the shadows after the alarm went off? Who did the two tracking spells belong to? And, most importantly, how are we getting that Throne back to Castlevania?"

Isaac stopped the sharpening of his spear and set it aside, turning to face Ria. Sara was staring down, hard, at the coffee table before the couch, as if contemplating its meaning. For a long moment, nobody said anything. Finally, Ria groaned, throwing her head back to rest it on the arm of the couch. When she spoke next, her face was directed towards the high ceiling of Belmont Manor.

"You all know I'm right. That Throne is too dangerous. And you all are asking the same questions I am; I know it. I mean, the Throne has to go back, right? So, do we steal it or what? And do we have to resurrect Castlevania to return it?"

"I don't think we have to bring the castle back to return it. After all, it was taken from its ruins," Isaac said.

Ria looked back at him and smiled. "Best news I've heard yet."

Another long moment passed, with the same thoughts—no doubt—flying through the minds of the only three occupants of Belmont Manor on that Saturday morning. Finally, Sara turned towards her pupil.

"Are you going to look for your uncle today? Isn't that what you've done every weekend since you've found out about him?" she asked.

Ria pursed her lips. Sara knew full well that only Ria could hear her, and that only she and Ria knew of her little, weekend-based quest. She had not even told Isaac. She had no idea why she had chosen not to confide this in the devil forge master. But she felt that she had to keep it that way. So, with that in mind, she kept her next answer as vague as possible.

"Well, it looks like I'm stuck here at the house today. What shall we do?" she asked, standing.

Sara smiled and nodded when Ria spared her a knowing glance. Isaac blinked up at her, shrugging.

"I don't know. You usually make yourself scarce on the weekends. What do you want to do?" he asked.

Ria's frowned a little, for just a fraction of a second. Why couldn't she tell Isaac where she went on the weekends? What's the worse he could do? Of course, she knew the answer to that one without really thinking. However, she could just order him not to tell her mother…

She stopped that train of thought immediately. She didn't want to abuse the blood bond between them. That would make her no better than Walter had been. So, with her jaw set, she made up her mind. Isaac would continue to be in the dark about her little weekend quest. Isaac, for his part, now had a brow raised dangerously high.

"Ria? Have I lost you?" he asked.

She mentally slapped herself when she realized that she must look a little spacey. She shook her head and quickly wiped the determined look from her face, restating her earlier question. Isaac sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know," he said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "We're only up against Dracula's possessed Throne. I suppose we could do some actual planning or maybe some training. Or is that too predictable?"

"That wasn't necessary!" Sara snapped at him, standing just so she could put her back to him. Ria laughed.

"What did she say?" Isaac asked, glaring at the seat on the couch that Sara had previously occupied.

Ria shook her head. "Nothing."

From there, the rest of the morning passed rather uneventfully. The group retired to the manor's spacious backyard. There, with Sara playing coach, Ria and Isaac sparred for the better part of the morning.

Ria felt tense. Either too controlled or not controlled enough. She couldn't get her limbs to do exactly what she wanted them to do, only close. Which led to Isaac being able to upset her off her feet a number of times. Her stomach had yet to relax from the early morning revelation, and she had no idea why.

Finally, around lunch, both agreed to a break as the telephone rang from within the manor. Ria immediately sprinted through the halls of the manor to catch the phone while it was still ringing, followed by Sara, while Isaac disappeared to manor parts unknown. She lifted the cordless white receiver from its equally white base and ignored the caller ID as she answered.

"Hello? Mom?" she asked quickly.

"Ria?" came Keisha's voice on the other end.

"Oh. Hey, Keisha," she replied, leaning against the threshold between the manor's foyer and the hall she had just emerged from.

"Well, damn, girl. Don't sound too happy."

Ria couldn't help but laugh. From there, she quickly explained the situation with her mother and how she had expected the call to come from Sophy. When she had finished, Keisha understood, giving her a few comforting words. Few other words were exchanged on the subject before it was quickly changed. The two girls spent hours then on the phone, chatting about all the things that normal teenagers chatted about—or so Ria supposed. Finally, as she noticed the sun actually beginning to set—with no Sophy in sight—Ria decided to end the conversation.

She placed the phone back on the receiver just as Isaac reappeared.

"What time is it?" she asked him.

"Late, and getting later," he said.

Ria rolled her eyes as Sara, who had disappeared soon after she realized it had been Keisha on the other end, reappeared. The ghostly woman glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the manor's main entrance. Lightly hugging her arms about herself, she sighed.

"I hate the thought of any living soul out past dark," she said as Ria nodded slowly in agreement.

"I'm sure Sophy's fine," Isaac said.

Ria whirled, eyes wide. "Did you hear Sara?"

He laughed. "No. I just guessed."

Sara laughed as Ria groaned/growled at Isaac. The group slowly made their way into the living room, finally turning on the television to something mindlessly distracting. However, it didn't seem to be working for Ria, who kept eyeing the clock hanging on the rightmost wall of the living room. Fifteen minutes of the rather stupid program later, Ria launched herself to her feet, with Isaac and Sara looking at her as if she was crazy.

"You're awfully jumpy tonight," Sara commented.

"No, I'm not," Ria snapped seconds before adding, "I think Mom's going to be too late to make dinner. Looks like I'll have to do it."

This garnered strange looks from her two companions. Scoffing and rolling her eyes, she placed her hands, rather haughtily, on her hips.

"What? Don't think I can cook?" she asked.

Isaac glanced at the couch as if to exchange a look with Sara, who looked directly back at him. After lightly clearing his throat, he said, "No, that's not it… it's just… _we've_ never seen you cook."

"Gee, wonder why? Could it be that I have school? And homework? And projects? And let's see… what I am forgetting? Oh, yeah! Frickin' Dracula and other untold minions of the dark breathing—no pun intended—down my neck—again, no pun intended!"

With that, she whirled and bustled off to the kitchen, not bothering to wait for a reply. As soon as she reached the rather linear kitchen, she paused. It took her a moment, but she finally decided that a simply made dinner would be best. She leaned down in front of the oven, pulling out that little storage drawer that tended to come with them. She cringed at the metal-on-metal scrap as she withdrew two boiling pots.

With barely a thought, she reached up for the skillet that hung above the stove and added it to the small collection of cookware she was amassing. She sighed, and turned to the refrigerator—located right behind her when she was standing in front of the stove. From the freezer she withdrew a pack of frozen chicken breasts and popped them into the microwave, putting them on the proper defrost time. As she was pulling the box of macaroni and cheese from the top cabinet beside the fridge, Isaac stepped into the room.

"Can I help?" he offered, in an oddly quiet voice.

Ria jerked her head in some semblance of a nod. After a moment, she added, out loud, "Peel the potatoes."

They both worked in silence for a moment. Ria felt her shoulders—which she had been holding almost at attention—ease as she started the macaroni noodles to boil and put the defrosted chicken on to do the same. The noodles wouldn't take very long, but the chicken would need to boil for at least an hour. Sighing, and finding herself with nothing to do while Isaac peeled, she leaned her back against a nearby counter.

Cooking relaxed Ria, when she got the time to do it. And she needed the relaxation… though she couldn't really put her finger on why she needed it. She often helped her mother with the holiday meals, and her father had taught her everything he had known about barbequing. An unidentifiable pang struck her heart as she thought of her father, but she pushed it aside. Pushing herself up beside Isaac, she offered her help.

"Sure… grab the knife," he said, setting another freshly peeled, golden potato aside.

She preferred to work with the peeler, but Isaac had the only one that the Smith family currently own. She got four potatoes in, when Isaac glanced over, an eyebrow raised.

"You're fast," he said.

She smiled. "I used to help out with dinner a lot more when…" she cut off the rest of her statement. Clearing her throat, she picked up, "I'm not, like, fantastic at it. I mean, I'm not ready to be a chef at a five star restaurant or anything. But I'm good at basic, family-type meals. And I rock boxed foods."

The former forge master laughed at that, as he finished his half of the potatoes. He turned, his eyes a little wide as he pointed towards the pan with the macaroni noodles in it. Ria followed the direction of his finger, made a noise similar to "yipe," and moved to turn down the heat before the pot boiled over.

"Okay… maybe I don't _rock_ them, per se," she said.

It went quiet again as Ria handed Isaac the colander to clean the potatoes. He sliced them into cubes before doing so. Finally, as he ran a strong stream of water over them, he sighed.

"Okay, what's up, Ria? You've been jumpy and distracted today. You seem worried about the fact that your mother is out late, but you've never been worried about that before. What's going on?"

Ria blinked as she poked the chicken with a fork… five more minutes, she estimated. She shrugged, not sure if Isaac could see her as she currently had her back to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been normal today," she said.

"To the casual observer… but I've noticed things," Isaac said, handing off the potatoes.

Ria turned to see him resting against the opposite counter. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And what _things_ have you noticed?"

"Well, there is the jumpiness and the distractedness. However, the most important thing I noticed was this morning… the way you sounded when Sophy mentioned Darren."

She put her back to him, her face downcast. She pressed her lips tightly together as she reached and turned off the eye that the chicken was on. Reaching up to the cabinet beside her, she withdrew flour and some spices.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, turning and almost smacking right into Isaac as he had moved closer to hand her the plain, white plate she had been just about ready to retrieve.

She turned, setting it down on the counter beside the stove and, almost automatically, began adding the flour and spices. Isaac moved around her to snatch the pot and drain the chicken, while Ria turned back on the eye—really, she had no idea why she had turned it off in the first place… or why she couldn't answer Isaac truthfully.

She was frying the floured chicken in the skillet while the potatoes were cooking when Isaac sighed and said, "I won't force you to talk about it. But I figure that you're kind of like a bomb waiting to explode… the more you hold this in, the more volatile you're going to be."

Ria huffed. "And since when did you get so attuned to everyone's feelings? And, for that matter, since when do you care?"

She bit her lip. Closing her eyes, she turned so that she knew she was facing him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean that."

"I know."

She sighed and, finally finding herself with nothing else to do—all the food was well on its way to being done—she shook her head and clasped her hands tightly around herself.

"I should be cool with it. Darren seems nice. And he makes Mom happy. But…"

Ria trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence. After all, she had been so pent up all day for reasons she couldn't explain. However, Isaac took it upon himself to finish it for her.

"But he's not your dad."

Ria felt her eyes grow wet with unshed tears. If she didn't control herself, it was all going to come pouring out. How unfair it all was. It wasn't fair that her Mom was dating. That should be _her_. Her mother shouldn't _have_ to date… not if her father had still been alive. It just wasn't fair.

She hadn't realized it, but the tears had begun to fall. And as she stood there, crying silently, Isaac stepped forward. He stretched his arms out, hesitantly, at first. Then, with a deep breath like a swimmer about to take a dive, he wrapped them about her. She rested her head on his chest, doing her best to dry her tears.

For possibly the longest moment in her life, she simply stood there against him. And neither showed any sign of breaking away from the embrace any time soon. However, the sound of two car doors shutting caused them both to jump apart as if they had been doing something just awful. Drying the last of her tears, Ria looked up with a bright, watery smile at Isaac.

"I'll distract them while you hide the evidence," he grinned his serpent's grin.

Ria laughed. Turning, she began to tend to food—which really didn't need tending to at the moment. She heard the kitchen's sliding door open and whirled, her eyes wide.

"Isaac?"

He paused.

"Thanks. I think I needed that. I don't often cry… so it doesn't come easily."

He smiled at her over his shoulder. "Not a problem."

He took another step towards exiting the kitchen when Ria called his name again. Turning, he waited for her to finish her statement.

"You're really getting good at this… being good, you know?"

He blinked, shock coloring his face. With a stiff nod and an equally stiffer, "Thank you," he disappeared into the main foyer.

* * *

End Notes: Okay, originally, there was much more to come… however, the first half of what I had outlined for this chapter just dragged on and on and on. So, I decided to cut it off here and turn the rest of it into next chapter. I had so much trouble writing this update, so I apologize if this chapter isn't up to par with the rest. The next one will be better, I promise. Please review!


	7. Family Night

A/N- So, so sorry for the long wait! You see, not only has my internet been down, I've started trying to get some short stories published… to get my foot in the door of the whole writing biz, you know? But, fear not! Fanfiction is just too much fun to abandon! So, without further ado, the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6- Family Night

Ria smiled as she brought the plate of fully-fried chicken to the dining room table, pleased to find that Isaac had taken it upon himself to set it. She set the plate, which was closer to being a platter, of food in the upper center of the table as Sophy, Darren, and Isaac entered the room. Sophy's face was lit with a small smile, and she mouthed a "thank you" to her daughter. Ria winked and welcomed Darren, indicating that he should sit on the right of the table's head. Sophy took her seat at the head as Isaac helped Ria bring the rest of the food out. Ria sat on her mother's other side as Isaac sat down beside her.

"Um… should we say grace?" Darren said, scratching the back of his head a little nervously.

Sophy nodded and all bowed their head. It was a short, simple thanks to God for the food, for the people, and for Ria—at which Ria laughed—having cooked dinner. All muttered "amen" and began to fill their plates.

"This looks wonderful, Ria," Darren said.

"I couldn't agree more," Sophy beamed.

"Well… I learned all that I did from Mom," Ria said, smiling slyly at Sophy.

The tiniest bit of guilt was edging into Ria's mind. She felt selfish for feeling the way she had—and, in truth, still did, despite her little release—about her mother dating. And the break-in at the museum. There was that, too. So, in her own way, she was going to play Sophy up; her way of apologizing.

Sophy shook her head, swallowing a bit of macaroni. "Not all true. Your father taught you quite a bit too."

Ria felt Isaac's eyes on her. Under the table, away from Darren's and Sophy's eyes, he gently nudged her leg with his. She smiled, nudging back.

"Well, both of you, then," she smiled.

She had never shoved a piece of chicken into her mouth so fast in her entire life. But, had she not done so, she would have been quite afraid of what words would have spilled out. Darren gave a sort of nervous laugh, clearing his throat.

"Um, so, Isaac… you're not related to either Sophy or Ria?" he asked.

Uh-oh. Ria's eyes flew to her mother, who looked just as panicked as her daughter felt. Great. Had none of them thought up a story as to why this strange, overly-tattooed man was living with two women? Three, if one knew about Sara… which, thankfully, Darren didn't. One thing at a time.

"Um… well," Sophy muttered, her eyes still glued to Ria. For her part, Ria looked like she was playing a childish game of "mimic" with her mother. But Isaac laughed.

"Well, Sophy got stranded in town one day when her car broke down, and I escorted her home," Isaac said without hesitation, as if he had told this story a million times before. Ria and Sophy simply stared as he continued, "I directed her to a good mechanic. She asked what she could do to repay me, and I asked if it would be all the same if I could rent a room here… as I was currently homeless. Disagreement with a, um, landlord."

Isaac took a drink of water at that, trying to hide a smile. Ria bit her bottom lip, about to burst into laughter. She had just been assaulted with the mental image of Walter in a wife-beater and jeans, screaming at Isaac to turn his stereo down. She shoved another piece of chicken into her mouth.

"She said that she would let me stay here, rent-free, as long as I helped out around the house as much as I could. So, here I am," Isaac said, gesturing to the manor.

Darren nodded. "Wow. I have to admit, I envy you a bit, Isaac. And you, and you," he added, turning to Sophy and Ria. "I'd give just about anything to live in this manor. It's beautiful. And it must be just chock-full of history. Didn't you say it's been in your family for generations, Sophy?"

"Something like that," she said, laughing. "Ria and I could give you a tour after dinner, if you'd like?"

Ria's eyes widened. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, a loud warning alarm rang. After all, what did they _really_ know about Darren? As true as it was that the manor was "chock-full of history," it was just as chock-full of secrets. Again, she felt Isaac's eyes burning into her. She glanced to her side, the both of them exchanging meaningful looks.

"What do you say, Ria? Would you do that?" Darren asked. "Your mother's mentioned that you know more about this manor than anyone. I wouldn't want to impose, though."

Ria had never had stage-fright in her life. Not really. In Kindergarten, when most of her fellow classmates had run off the stage crying during the annual Christmas play, she had been among the proud few who made it all the way through without a single tear shed, belting out the choruses to many classic Christmas songs. Sophy and Jared had been so happy. But now, she felt like a giant spotlight was bearing down upon her, and that she just might start crying. She didn't know why, but she just had a feeling that it was a bad, bad, bad idea to show Darren _too_ much of the manor. However, Sophy was beaming at her, waiting for her answer. Feeling her mouth go a little dry, she coughed out a tiny, "Sure… why not?"

Under the table, she felt Isaac's leg smack into hers. She kicked back. Apparently a little too hard, because he jumped a little, causing Sophy and Darren to stare. Smiling, he said, "Stubbed my toe."

After that, Ria was amazed at the speed at which Darren finished his dinner. In fact, he was done in enough time to sit idly while Ria slowly chewed down some chicken. Finally, wiping her mouth with a napkin, she figured she had delayed the inevitable long enough. Pushing her chair back just as both Isaac and Sophy simultaneously set down their forks, Ria stood and put on the brightest smile she could muster. Her mother liked this guy, she had to keep reminding herself. Honestly liked him. Despite the gnawing feeling of uneasiness in her gut, she had to play nice. Innocent until proven guilty.

"Ready to go?" she asked as politely as she could.

Darren jumped to his feet, a broad smile on his lips. "Definitely. Lead the way."

Ria put her back to him—and her mother and Isaac—and rolled her eyes as soon as she was sure her face was out of view. Without bothering to check if anyone was following, she quickly crossed the hall into the living room. To her right, Sara suddenly appeared, causing her to jump.

"What are you doing? This is a very, very bad idea, Ria!" the ghost woman scolded just as Darren, Isaac, and Sophy entered the room.

She gave Sara a smile that did not quite meet her eyes, and turned her attention back to her mother's guest. She gestured to the surroundings with a shrug.

"Uh… this is the living room. We've kind of modernized it from when Grandma and Grandpa lived here, I think," she said.

After all, what else was he expecting hear? Oh, and by the way, this is the historical home of several generations of vampire hunters. And not just any vampire hunters, the mortal enemies of Count Dracula. Ria had to bite down a scoff at her own thought. This tour was stupid and pointless… and not to mention, nerve-wrecking.

"Very lovely. I notice the moldings are original," he said, pointing upwards.

Sophy nodded. "Yeah, I was extra careful not to damage them while we were moving in."

Why wasn't she giving this tour? Then, with a dark look from Sara, Ria knew her answer. There were things in this house that, possibly, Sophy wouldn't think twice against showing him. Isaac moved around the two as they continued to talk about moldings and other things that Ria wasn't sure she knew exactly what they were, and came to stand by Ria, grimacing down at her. Ria chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sophy asked.

"Oh, nothing. Let's move on, shall we?"

An hour. It took an entire hour to lead her little tour group around the rather large manor. And every room they came too, they lost minutes at a time as Sophy and Darren discussed the most meaningless things in dramatic detail. By the time they made it back down to the first floor, Ria had made a silent pact with God to never work in a museum… _ever_.

"And, that, I think, concludes our tour," Ria said as the group stood at the end of the main hallway.

Sophy and Darren clapped as Ria gave a mock bow. Looking up with a sneaky smile, she added, "Be sure to tip your guide."

"Nice try. You don't tip guides, hon," Sophy said, patting her daughter sarcastically on the top of the head.

Ria shrugged as Isaac laughed. "Had to try."

Darren opened his mouth, on the verge to thank her once again for the tour, when he suddenly stopped, leaning around her. He arched a dark brow and brought his attention back to Ria.

"What's in that room?" he asked.

She knew what room he meant without even looking. She had been extra careful in avoiding that very room. However, she made a show of looking perplexed as she turned and said, "Oh, that room."

"He can't go in there!" Sara hissed, and Ria gave the slightest nod she had ever given in her life.

Isaac glanced down at her, alarm barely masked on his face. It was the Gallery. The archive of all the Belmont—and some non-Belmont—portraits throughout the ages. Not to mention, unofficial vampire hunting arsenal. There was no way in Hell that Ria was going to let some guy her mother just met into that room. She turned back to Darren with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That room's off limits. It has… uh… water damage. Pipe broke. It's really bad to go in there right now, according to the plumber. Possibility of dangerous mold and all that."

Sophy looked like she was about to protest when Isaac moved quickly out of Darren's sight and motioned her not to say anything. She closed her mouth and furrowed her brow. Darren looked rather disappointed at not being allowed entry. However, Ria just kept on smiling.

"Oh," he said, easily crestfallen. "Another time, maybe?"

"Sure," Ria said, and it was awful hard not to make that sarcastic.

Darren spent a few more minutes talking with Sophy before finally announcing his departure. The Smith women waved him down the driveway, shouting pleasantries about his visit. However, once his car was out of view, Sophy glanced down at her daughter.

"Ria, help me with the dishes," she said, heading towards the kitchen.

Ria knew that voice. And apparently, Isaac and Sara did too as they both disappeared into the living room. Sophy might have said, "help me with the dishes," but what she meant was, "we have to talk." She had employed this tactic many times in the past when wanting to dig a little deeper into her daughter's mind. Sighing, Ria nodded and followed after.

They were halfway into their dish load, with Sophy doing the washing and Ria doing the drying and putting away, when Sophy finally sighed. Staring down into the increasingly dirty dishwater, Sophy shook her head.

"Okay… what was that all about?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Ria replied, putting away a glass.

"You know exactly what I mean. You were… forced. All evening long, everything you said seemed to be carefully thought out first. And all your cheerfulness seemed… faked. I'm not trying to be mean," Sophy added quickly, catching the look on her daughter's face. "I just want to know what's up. Do you not like him? Is that why you wouldn't show him the Gallery?"

Ria stopped mid-dry and shook her head. She set the plate and dishtowel down and turned to look her mother right in the eye. Sophy looked genuinely upset, and it made Ria's heart ache. Her mother had been completely open with her ever since her kidnap by Walter. And she had sworn to herself that it would be "no more secrets" for her. She wouldn't keep a thing from her mother, but here she was, doing just that. With a deep sigh, she shrugged.

"It's not that, Mom. I mean, I don't hate him. I just… it's weird. I can't put it any better than that," Ria said.

And really, that last part was just half a sentence. The rest was, "without hurting your feelings." Sometimes, it was alright to hold back, if only a little. Sophy, however, looked as if she saw right through Ria's thin guise. Shaking her head, she smiled softly.

"Being a teenager's hard. Being a teenager whose father just died a year ago is even harder. And being a teenager whose father just died a year ago, plus the responsibility of vampire hunting is probably the hardest thing I've heard of yet."

Ria laughed despite herself. Sophy continued.

"The fact that I'm dating is probably killing you, isn't it? You don't have to answer. I know it is. To be honest, it's weird for me too. I mean, I really like Darren, but I still miss your father. A lot. There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about him. But we talked about this while he was sick. He made sure that I knew that he was okay with the idea of me moving on whenever I was ready. To the very end, all Jared was worried about was our… our happiness."

Sophy stopped talking then as both women began to tear up. Swallowing down her tears, Ria spoke up.

"I know all that, Mom. That's why it kills me that this bothers me so much. I want you to be happy… I'm just going to have to deal with it. He's a nice guy, really. It just… doesn't seem fair."

She paused here, ready to explain her meaning. But Sophy only smiled and nodded knowingly.

"And the fact that you're trying means the world to me, honey. It really does. But, why not show him the Gallery? I mean, to outright lie to him like that?"

Ria swallowed down any guilt and unhappy feelings she had and planted herself. On this matter alone, she felt strongly about her decision.

"Mom, we don't know what's going to happen between now and some untold future. And we don't really know who he is, honestly. I'm sorry that I lied to him, but I had to. Until something proves to me that he can handle that secret of our family history, responsibly, then I'm going to keep him out of that Gallery."

Sophy took a good, long look at her daughter. For a moment, it looked like she was going to protest. In the end, she only sighed.

"Well, it is your secret to keep now, isn't it? I respect your decision," she said.

Both women smiled. Outstretching her arms, Ria grinned, "Hug it out?"

The two came together and held to each other tightly for a moment. However, as they separated, a loud crash sounded from upstairs. In Ria's room, by the sound of it.

"What in the world?" Sophy asked.

Ria whirled, her eyes hard.

"Stay here!" she ordered.

She dashed out of the kitchen and was joined on the staircase by Isaac—his spear out—and Sara. The two bounded upstairs and came to a halt just inside Ria's darkened bedroom. Isaac flicked on the light, and Ria's eyes widened.

The window just over her bed was shattered, the glass covering her bedsheet and some of her floor. It would take hours for her pick up. And on her bed, the object that had done the shattering. The three approached the item slowly, peering down at it.

It was an odd rock of some sort, no bigger than the size of Ria's fist. Carved into the top of it, however, was a strange symbol. It looked sort of like a column, but if Ria turned her head a certain way she could almost see it as a backbone. She glanced up at Isaac, about to ask him what he made of it, when she paused.

A dark look clouded the former devil forger's eyes, and his jaw was visibly clenched. Ria arched a brow and leaned around to put herself within his eyesight.

"What's up, Isaac? Do you know what this means?" she asked.

"I only know what I was told, years ago. And it wasn't good news," he answered.

Sara sighed. "When is it ever?"

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End Notes: Finally!! It only took me forever to finish this chapter! Sorry if it's a little slow, or a little shorter than what some of the other chapters have been. The next chapter will be kind of short too, but the one after that will be quite long… and quite fun ;) Anyhow, lately my attention has been divided between trying to get published and working on another fanfiction here. But I'll try extra hard to get that next chapter out soon. Please review!


	8. Reports

A/ N- Well, soon didn't happen. You wouldn't believe how much time a list of publishing deadlines can take up… or maybe you would. In any case, I hope I get some of my regular readers back for this chapter. I swear to you, I swear I will put out chapter eight soon after this one, as this one is looking like it's going to be a short one. On a positive note, I've gotten two pieces published, so yay!

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Chapter 7- Reports

It was enormous and glittered in the moonlight. Abandoned for nearly two hundred years, the Cathedral of Light was supposed to stand as a testament as the villagers' will to oppose Dracula, as it stood only a mile from where Castlevania rose every hundred years. But after so many brutal deaths, the church's light was extinguished and abandoned. Now, the only light that shined in was the soft glow of moonlight mixed with the multicolored array through the stained glass that had not yet been shattered.

But Galamoth cared nothing for the scenery. He reclined back upon the broken altar, one knee propped up with one wrist rested across it. For the moment, he was alone, basking in the glory of success. His minions would begin to instill fear into this young Belmont that had dared meddle in his affairs, pushing her towards their goal. She was the key to finding the Throne, of that he was sure. This young girl, this child, would be the one to lead him right to it. He scoffed, thinking of the girl. How was it that one such as she could ever pose such a threat to Dracula, let alone himself? But his minions were worried…

Rumor had it that last year, she had defeated a powerful vampire by the name of Walter Bernhard with little help… but that lowly vampire scum had not been the Lord of Time. Galamoth turned one of his enormous eyes to a shattered window, watching as a leaf fluttered its way through and down. Holding out a lazy hand, palm up, the leaf—and everything else, for that matter—paused, right in midair. He chanted an ancient phrase, one he had known since before the dawn of time, and the leaf reversed its course. He reversed his phrase, and time sped up, returning the leaf to its original point. Galamoth dropped his hand and allowed time to take its natural turn as the leaf slowly fell to skim across the cold stone floor.

A loud grating noise sounded, and the Lord of Time turned his attention to the front of the Cathedral. It took all of his minions, but they had pushed open the large iron doors and made their way inside. His cult's leader emerged at the head of a line that formed naturally, his chest puffed out and proud. At the end of the broken pews that lined either side of the aisle, the cult fanned out and bowed down, resting on their knees. Only the cult leader raised his head.

"Galamoth, praise be to you!" he said, the others murmuring along behind him.

"Yes, yes. Now, report. What of the Child of Belmont?" Galamoth said, his eyes glaring down at the leader.

"We have begun the process of fear. Soon, she will panic and lead us straight to Dracula's Throne."

"How, exactly, does this process work?"

The leader froze, thinking hard. "Fear is the motivator of many things, my lord. Surely her fear of our discovering the Throne before her will lead her to revealing its location to us."

Galamoth's brow rose. "Her fear of us discovering it will lead to us discovering it? I believe I see a flaw in your plan. What of the spell? Did you not access the tracking spell that Dracula had placed upon it?"

Murmurs of assent rose up from the cult members, Galamoth growled for silence and gestured for the leader to continue.

"Someone interrupted the spell, my lord. I lost it long before I found its source. But I heard a ruckus shortly after having lost it. I followed it to see the young Belmont woman running from the town's museum followed by a red haired man with tattoos all over his body. Before she exited, another man in a suit with black hair had also exited from the building."

"Incompetent fools," Galamoth muttered. Aloud, he added, "Describe the tattoos."

"They were almost tribal, my lord. His clothing covered most of them, so I could not see, but they appeared to cover the entirety of his body, including his face. They looked ancient, but nothing particularly special."

"Draw them for me, in the dust gathered here on the floor."

The cult leader blinked and swallowed. He scooted forward while the rest of the cult scooted back.

"I… I shall try, my lord."

He pulled a pile of dust to his knees and began to trace his finger through it, making curls and turns and jagged edges. A few times, he would pat out a section of dirt, muttering, "That's not quite it," and retry. Finally, when he was finished, he moved back to sit with his brethren.

Galamoth leaned down to get a better look at what his follower had drawn for him. With a grim smile stretching his already odd face, he laughed.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" he asked.

"What is it, my lord?"

Scoffing, Galamoth pulled back, once again glaring down at the leader of the cult.

"That is none of your concern. What _is_ of your concern is obtaining the Throne, which I can see that you are no closer to doing."

"But, my lord-!"

Before another word could fall from his mouth, Galamoth raised his staff, and purple lightning rained down upon the man. The other members of the cult leapt back as their leader's cries of agony filled the cathedral. A few more minutes of it, and Galamoth ended his punishment. The robed man fell to the ground, smoke rising from him. Weakly, he raised his head up to his master.

"I… will do… better… my lord," he promised.

"See that you do. When next we meet, there had better be some real progress on the Throne, or that meeting will be your last. Leave me!"

Two of the members rushed forward and picked up their injured leader. Bowing and scraping as they went, they backed all the way up the aisle and out of the cathedral. Once they had closed the iron doors behind them, Galamoth sighed.

He recognized those tattoos. But they puzzled him. After all, he had been informed that no devil forgers had existed in this time… Leaning back on the broken statues of religious icons, he lost himself in thought.

* * *

End Notes: Yeah, please don't hate me for this chapter. It has its purposes, I promise. I also promise that the next thing I'll be working on will be chapter 8—which will be quite long, I think—so you'll have a better chapter to follow. Please review!


	9. Glutton for Punishment

A/N- Yay! It was so great to see everyone come back! I was worried that I had lost you all in the long wait for this chapter. And thanks so much for the congrats! Now, hopefully you all will enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 8- Glutton for Punishment

School had been nothing short of Hell for the past week. One would think that nothing could distract Ria from a rock with a strange symbol—a symbol strange enough to freak out Isaac a little bit—having been hurled through her window, but like it always did, life proved her wrong. She had had a test almost every day that week, and Mr. Hamm seemed intent on trying to destroy her academic career by marking off for every point that he could. And all of this fell on top of having to watch her mother have a successful dating life. When the bell rang on that Friday afternoon and Keisha asked Ria to the café, Ria almost offered to race her there.

The two arrived, via their separate cars, and immediately found a table in the center modest-sized building. The seat was more in the way of people than what Ria usually cared to sit, but she did not protest. They set their purses down by their feet—Keisha's clad in stiletto heels and Ria's clad in sneakers—and did not even order right away.

Ria sighed, groaned, and made a big show of sliding down in her seat. Keisha nodded sagely and closed her eyes.

"Let me have it, girl. Let it all spill out."

"Darren's taking Mom out again. Again! I mean, come on. You would think two fully employed adults, one with a child, wouldn't have time to go out every single freakin' weekend. But, they are, leaving me at home with Isaac," Ria said, pushing herself to sit erect in her seat as she flailed her hands out dramatically.

"It's because you've let your mother know that you can take care of yourself. I mean, if you had wanted to use the fact that you're a 'child' to keep her from going out every weekend, you need to act more immature."

Ria grinned. "Damn my independence."

Keisha laughed. One of the freer baristas made her way over and took their order, with Keisha just ordering a cup of coffee with two sugars, and Ria ordering the new pumpkin-infused cappuccino. Once the black-and-white clad woman had bobbed her vibrant-red ponytail for the thousandth time, she bustled off to fill the order, dodging other patrons and workers as she went as it was quite crowded in the café today. Ria turned back to her friend and smiled.

"I don't really want to keep her from dating," she said, picking right back up where they had left off.

She ran a hand through her hair, which she had teased just a little this morning, and unzipped her red jacket to reveal a purple, long sleeved printed shirt that was splashed with green writing that proclaimed something about being wild. Ria had never really paid any attention to it, having just liked it for its colors. Keisha brushed back her own hair, straightened today, and smiled.

"I know," she said, nodding. "I get it."

And Ria really felt that she did. It, of course, was just that Ria wanted to date. But how does a teen vampire hunter go about getting dates? If she remembered that one show about the vampire slayer, the answer was, "not all that easily." Dating came with consequences that Ria just could not deal with right now. But it was flat-out weird to have the dating role reversed between mother and daughter, and that was something she was sure she was not going to get over soon.

"You know your problem? You need to get out more. I mean, you nearly floored me when you accepted my offer to hang out this afternoon," Keisha continued.

Ria smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. With Dad gone, it's just that Mom needs me a bit more around the house."

She hated using her mother as her excuse all the time, but it was the only one she had… Well, the only one she had that she could use _without_ ending up in the loony bin. But Keisha, again, only nodded.

"I know. It was like that with my Dad and me when Mom died. We were nearly inseparable, and I was always worried that he needed me for one thing or another. Eventually, though, you'll come to realize that it's okay to do your own thing."

Ria smiled. "I guess I'm just not there yet."

"You'll get there, trust me."

At that moment, the barista returned with their drinks. The girls thanked the woman and each took a small sip of their order. Ria felt her eyes light up at the pumpkin drink and had to fight the urge to begin slurping it down. But she must have been going at it pretty intensely still, because Keisha laughed at her.

"You know they've got enough of that stuff to last all season, right?"

Ria set down her cup and wiped quickly at her mouth with a paper napkin.

"I, uh, have a huge coffee addiction," she said, by way of explanation.

"Really? Didn't notice."

The two's conversation then veered all over the spectrum, from school to clothes, to home, to anything else that crossed their minds. The two had been sitting, their drinks long finished, in the café for at least an hour, laughing and chatting. It felt good to just talk with someone, without the subject of vampires or destiny coming up. Ria hadn't felt so relaxed since… well, she couldn't remember when.

"Oh," Keisha said suddenly, tapping the table as if to jog her memory, her brightly colored rings clanking loudly on the surface, "Dad would love for you to come over to dinner one night next week."

Ria grinned. "I would love that."

Keisha nodded, brushing non-existent crumbs off her shirt-vest top. In the distance, the bell announcing new arrivals into the café dinged, and Ria looked up. She was sure that the bell had been dinging away all the time they'd been there, but for some reason, she had felt compelled to look. She fought rolling her eyes as Isaac, dressed in his usual style, sauntered over to their table. She crossed her arms, giving an almost inaudible huff. She could always feel when Isaac was nearing her, which was most likely why she had looked up at that particular moment. She blamed the blood bond. Meanwhile, Isaac kicked a chair away from a nearby unused table, and flipped it wrong-way-round to sit. Crossing his arms over the back of the chair, he grinned.

"Evening, ladies. How are you?" he asked.

Ria rolled her eyes as Keisha flashed the former forgemaster her brightest smile.

"Just fine, Isaac, and you?"

His grin turned sly as he said, "Can't complain."

The two of them were always like this, from the moment they had first met back at the beginning of the school year when Ria had had her friend over for dinner. And this endless flirting was just plain annoying. They would flash grins, playfully nudge, and wink at one another for all hours of the day and night if someone did not step in and stop them. Honestly, Ria knew that it shouldn't bother her as much as it did… but it did. Settling back in her chair, Ria watched as Isaac and Keisha played catch up, flirting along as they went. Finally, when Ria was almost ready to take no more, Keisha stood and announced that she had to use the restroom. As soon as she was out of sight, Ria leaned forward.

"Find anything?" she whispered, as if anyone else in the café cared to listen.

Which, she reminded herself, they might. After all, this is where she had met with Dracula for the first time…

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head.

The night that the mysterious rock had been chucked through her window, Isaac had mentioned that the symbol had seemed familiar to him. He had shared with her that it was, indeed, a backbone representation and used to represent the cult of the Egyptian god Osiris. Ria had then used her computer lab time in school the past week to find out all she could about the cult… which was nothing more than she might have found if she was trying to write a school report on the subject.

Now, she smacked the table—the poor object was getting such abuse—and shook her head.

"Damn. Absolutely nothing?" she asked.

"A name, but I can't find anything else further. I remembered that that symbol was used in some devil forging, but not very often, to summon a demon known as Galamoth. But that's it. I can't find a usage of the name anywhere else and all the, ahem, connections that I have are too terrified to speak of it."

Ria pursed her lips, leaning back. "That's never good."

"I'd say that that was an understatement."

"Are you sure that it's connected with devil forging?"

Isaac nodded, his eyes floating over Ria's head for a moment. Ria instinctually turned in the same direction. When both, apparently, found nothing, they turned back to one another.

"It was one of the first symbols a devil forger is taught. Was taught, I guess I should say. But we were told that it was to be used in certain cases only. Dracula made sure of saying that."

"Weird," Ria commented. "I can check the journals, to try and find a mention of the name."

Isaac shrugged. "I've already done that. Maria Renard mentions it only once, in passing, saying that Alucard fought with him."

"So it's a tangible, touchable thing, right?" Ria said.

Now it was Isaac's turn to roll his eyes.

"Did you really think that it was anything different? I mean, what else could it have possibly been?"

Ria shrugged, but was saved from answering as Isaac nodded back in the direction of the restrooms.

"Here comes Keisha. I'm going to order a cup and sit outside."

With that he stood, but Ria arched a brow up at him. "You could just sit with us, you know."

Isaac grinned one of his snake's grins. "I'll let you have your girl time."

Without another word, he walked away just as Keisha appeared at the table, waving "bye" to him. She turned back to Ria and smiled, her lips parting to restart their last conversation when she stopped, interrupted by the ringing of the coffee shop bell. For Ria's part, all she saw was Keisha turn as she cast her own eyes downward.

A name with no further explanation, with the journals saying nothing? This was either something totally insignificant… or ultimately bad. And she had a wrenching feeling in her gut that it was the bad one.

Lost in thought, she was completely caught off guard when Keisha muttered, "Damn. Older, but still hot."

Ria lifted her head and arched a brow at her friend. "Isaac?"

Keisha mirrored her look and laughed. "No, but we all know who _you've_ got on the brain."

Ria blushed and shook her head. It was true that Isaac was on her mind, but definitely not in that way. It was a real shame sometimes that she couldn't just tell Keisha that she was a vampire hunter. But really, a revelation like that wasn't good for keeping friends.

"Well, then who are you talking about?" she hissed, and Keisha turned towards the café's front counter and pointed.

Ria's eyes widened. Genya Arikado, still dressed in a black three-piece with his ebony hair swept neatly so that it cascaded down his back, slowly approached the barista who manned the register. The girl—who was only about a year older than Ria—was blushing a deep crimson as he approached and seemed to be having a hard time keeping herself from giggling. Ria, her eyes glued to Arikado, leaned over to Keisha and grabbed her arm.

"That's him! Keisha, that's him! That's the representative of the Japanese government that's giving my mom a hard time at work!" she hissed.

Keisha snorted a little. "You didn't mention how good he looks."

Before Ria could reply, she saw a devious light behind her friend's eyes. With a half grin no less snake-like than Isaac's, Keisha nodded toward Arikado, who seemed to be taking his time deciding what he wanted.

"Go up there," she hissed conspiratorially. "Bump, _accidentally_, into him and flirt around a little."

Ria's mouth pulled automatically into a frown as she managed to turn her eyes back to her friend long enough for a quick glare.

"What? You want me to _flirt_ with him? He's like… way, way older than me!"

Keisha rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Ria, Ria, I'm suggesting you flirt with him, not marry him. Just a little. Besides, he's only got to be in his early thirties, mid-thirties at most."

Somehow, for some reason, Ria doubted this.

"Look," Keisha said reasonably, "the reason you can't get a date is that your flirt is gathering dust. All I'm asking you to do is go up to him and let it get a little practice. I'll be right here the whole time, so you don't have to worry about him abducting you or anything."

"And if he does, sometime later?"

Keisha flashed another mischievous grin. "I'll make sure he's the first one the authorities suspect. Now, go!"

With that, Keisha all but shoved her out of her seat. Ria's stomach rolled as she approached the counter, where Arikado was still gazing up at the chalkboard-style menu, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Halfway to her destination, Ria turned back to Keisha, who shot her an encouraging double-thumbs up. With a groan, Ria made her way up to the counter's other free station.

"May I get you something?" her own barista, a woman about her mother's age, asked.

"Um… yeah… I'd like a, um…" Ria stammered, shooting sideways glances at Arikado.

"I believe I've decided," he said, grinning at the girl across the counter, who was blushing so deeply now she looked like a tomato. Ria really hoped she wasn't blushing like that right now.

"And w-what will you have?" she said, almost choking on her own giggles.

Now Ria was sure that she was not behaving _that_ badly.

"Miss?" her barista questioned.

"Oh, sorry. I'll have another pumpkin-infused cappuccino," she said.

The woman nodded, rung-up her drink, and Ria paid, instructing her to keep the change.

"I'll have a double cappuccino, half-caf non-fat milk with just enough foam to be aesthetically pleasing but not so much that it leaves a mustache with just a slight dusting of cinnamon," Arikado ordered beside her.

Ria's eyes widened. All that time to order, and it sounded as if he had had that figured out all along. The barista serving him looked just as surprised as well, rushing to type in his order. He received his, oddly, long before Ria got hers, disappearing off to a table as if he had not noticed her standing there. As soon as she received her own cappuccino, she thanked the woman and returned to her seat with Keisha.

"Well, that failed," Ria muttered.

Keisha, however, looked up apologetically as Ria heard her close her cell and slip it inside her purse.

"Got called home?" Ria guessed.

Keisha nodded. "Yeah, Dad needs me to do… something or another. We'll talk later?"

Ria nodded as Keisha slipped her purse out from underneath their table and left. For a few moments, Ria only sat there, sipping much slower at this pumpkin-cappuccino than the last, debating on whether she should head home or see if Isaac was still sitting in the outdoors section. After yet a few more moments of missing the company of somebody to talk to, and wishing she had at least brought Sara along, she pushed back her chair and decided that she would go and join Isaac, who she could see was still there through the clear glass door that separated the indoor café and the outdoor section.

She grabbed up her purse, slung the large purple, faux-leather thing over her shoulder, and began to cross the café in bigger strides than what she usually walked in. She was almost to the door, her pumpkin drink freezing her hand, when a voice to her left, calling her name, made her stop.

"Miss Smith?"

She turned to find Arikado, sitting at one of the more shadowed tables by himself. Now she really wished she had the whip with her. This scene was becoming all too familiar, all too quickly.

"I'm Mr. Arikado… we met at the museum your mother works at?" he said.

Ria crossed her arms, which accomplished nothing more than freezing her hand _and_ her arm with the drink.

"I remember."

He grinned. "I thought you might. Please, won't you join me?"

Ria gazed over her shoulder at Isaac through the door. The former forgemaster's head was downturned, reading what appeared to be a magazine of some kind, his drink in his other hand.

"It's rather urgent that we speak," Arikado said, using his foot to push out the car across from himself.

"And how do I know you aren't some sort of… I don't know…" Ria said, allowing her sentence to trail off.

In her mind, she finished, "some sort of monster," but kept her face neutral and the comment to herself.

"It's about Galamoth, Ria," he said.

That shattered every bit of neutrality she had. Eyes as large as saucers, she slipped into the chair he offered, fully aware that this still might not be the smartest of ideas. But if it could produce some sort of information about Galamoth…

"How do you know that name?" she asked.

"All in due time. You know, I wasn't sure about you when we ran into each other at the museum… but I'm sure now. You're the heir of the whip, aren't you? The Belmont chosen this generation to wield the Vampire Killer."

Ria's mouth opened just a fraction of an inch, about to agree, when she paused.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Arikado had none of his charming, gentlemanly airs on for her now. His face was darker and set like a statue's.

"We've not the time for games, Ria. Why else would the name Galamoth have interested you?"

Ria pursed her lips. He had a point. She had tipped her hand way too early.

"Fine. So what if I am? And what does my being a Belmont have to do with the Japanese government?"

"Absolutely nothing," Arikado said, leaning back. "But everything to do with dealing with Dracula's Throne."

Ria's face was now just as stony as his was. "How do you know whose throne that is? How do you know anything about any of this?"

"The Japanese wanting the Throne is just a ruse I used to come here and deal with this problem personally."

"So, you want to destroy it?"

"Unfortunately, we can't do that. The repercussions of such an action would be nothing less than catastrophic. However, what we _must_ do, _immediately_, is return it to Castlevania. The world depends upon it."

Ria was so tired of the world depending on her to do one thing or another. So much for a nice day without conversations of vampires and destiny. Taking a slow sip of her drink—now half melted because it had been forgotten for so long—she shook her head.

"Okay, so no destroying the Throne. Check. But what, or who, is Galamoth, and what is the connection with the Throne? More importantly, how do _you_ know all of this? Answer the last one first."

There was a beat of silence in which Arikado chose not to answer. He seemed to be debating on revealing this bit of information to her. Finally, with a sigh, he nodded.

"I don't know how familiar you are with me, but I'm mentioned many times in your family's journals. My name is Alucard… I am the son of Dracula."

In that moment, Ria's mind flashed back, and she saw, instead of Arikado, Dracula sitting in that chair across from her, telling her the very same thing. Then, she mentally replayed Arikado's little reveal. Red clouded her vision as she stood, shoving her chair back as roughly as she could. For his part, Arikado looked genuinely surprised by this response.

"Okay," she said, trying hard not to yell. The chair had already garnered enough stares. "This is really getting old. I am so frickin' tired of every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming up to me and claiming that they're Alucard! No, no thank you! I'm leaving, your information on Galamoth be damned!"

Leaving him looking very much like a fish out of water, Ria whirled and strode outside, where she plopped, very noticeably, into the chair across from Isaac. The former forgemaster glanced up over the top of his magazine, a crimson brow raised.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," he drawled. "But what's wrong?"

Ria caught Isaac up on the whole thing, at the end of which he only "hmm"-ed and shrugged.

"I mean, can you believe that?" she said. "I mean, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice—"

"Uh, Ria? Is that him?"

Ria followed Isaac's lazily lifted finger as she turned to see Arikado approaching their table. Shaking her head as she turned back to Isaac for just a moment, murmuring, "Man, this one just doesn't know when to quit."

Isaac looked on the verge of replying when she turned back around and stood just as Arikado gave the smallest of head nods.

"I apologize for whatever it is that I said that offended you, but I've come to assure you, that I _am_—"

Ria held up a hand. "Let me stop you right there."

"Ria," Isaac said from behind her, but she ignored him and pressed on.

"I don't know what it is about the forces of evil that makes them want to masquerade as Dracula's son and rope me into helping them," she said.

"Ria?" Isaac said again, with Arikado looking really perplexed.

"But I'm done. Count me out. I'm not being fooled into another fake Alucard again."

"But, Miss Smith," Arikado began, but once again, she cut him off.

"No, don't you get it? No! I'm tired of everyone trying to pull the wool over my eyes!"

"RIA!" Isaac finally yelled, and she whirled to find him standing and leaning over the table towards her.

"What?" she asked.

"Remember how I could see through Dracula's glamour?"

She nodded.

"Well," he said. "I can see through his. This really is Alucard, son of Dracula."

Ria's jaw almost hit the floor. She turned, slowly, back to Arikado—Alucard. Lifting a dark brow, he said, "Dracula's glamour? My father posed as me?"

"Long story," Ria said, her voice almost a whisper.

The level of embarrassment coursing through Ria at the current moment was one like that she would imagine be like being suddenly backhanded, while standing naked at the front of a classroom full of peers. She gulped and extended a shaky hand.

"P-pleasure to m-meet you," she said.

He grinned, but did not take her hand. "The pleasure is all mine."

"I'm… _so_ sorry," she said.

"Not to worry. Nice to know that I was not wrong about your cautious personality."

Their conversation was halted by the ring of his cell phone. He removed it from his black jacket and excused himself, stepping off a little out of earshot. Ria turned to Isaac.

"If I ordered you to tell me… ?" she began, but Isaac nodded.

"The answer would be the same. He's Alucard, without a doubt."

A few moments later, Alucard—as Ria couldn't help but think of him as, glamour or no—slapped his cell phone shut and turned back. He paused, briefly, staring at Isaac.

"Laforeze… I'm surprised to see you yet living. And by the scent of your blood… you are under a bond with this young woman, aren't you?"

A very childish part of Ria cried out internally, "He called me a 'young woman'!" But she controlled it. With a smirk, Isaac slid down into his chair, propping his foot up enough so that his knee was just above the table.

"Again, a long story," he sneered.

"One that I will have to hear about later. I'm afraid that I'm needed at the museum just now. Here," he said, handing Ria a business card from within his jacket. "That's my cell number. Call me to arrange a meeting a little later this evening. Good day."

He turned, taking only a single step away, when he turned back around.

"Oh, and Ria, I can guess that you are still not very trustful of me. On the back of the card is a gesture of goodwill for you. If you would like, you may even wait to call me after you complete your own personal mission. Again, good day."

And with that, he left. Isaac leaned over Ria's shoulder as she flipped over the plain white business card.

"An address? To where?" Isaac asked as Ria sank into a chair.

Her own personal mission… that's what he had said. Which meant this address could only be…

"It's my uncle's."

* * *

End Notes: Well, I hope this chapter makes up for the last one. I apologize for not replying to the reviews like I usually do, but I wanted to get this one out as soon as possible. I promise, I'll reply to these reviews. Oh, and the order of coffee that Arikado/Alucard made is a little joke between my fiancé and I. It comes from an episode of Frasier, with only a slight change made to it by yours truly. Please review!


	10. Biting the Bullet

A/N- Okay, I apologize for the wait. I took November off to participate in NaNoWriMo—a fanfic this year, and I won!—and now I'm back to working on getting published—have a few publication credits built up now—and getting a few chapters out in between. Oh, and I'm currently editing the fanfic that I wrote for NaNo and posting its chapters every so often. Busy, busy, especially considering the holidays. But, enough excuses. Let's say we get on with this one, shall we?

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Chapter 9- Biting the Bullet

Saturday. If it were any other weekend, Ria would be at the library, looking through the very extensive family records that this town kept there. But she had no need to do that anymore. What she had been searching so hard for had finally fallen in her lap… given to her by the son of Dracula.

Irony was funny.

Ria had made her excuses to both her mother—who was now planning a date with Darren, after suddenly finding herself free—and Isaac—who, if she wasn't mistaken, had looked a little hurt that she did not want him with her. With the whip in her purse, and Sara sitting in the Rio's passenger seat, Ria had set off to the address on the back of the business card.

Twenty minutes she sat in the driveway of the quaint little suburban-designed white-vinyl siding house. Both hands were down in her lap, gripping the tiny card so hard that there were folds forming around her fingers. Sara was quiet, her eyes flicking back and forth between her friend and the house.

"This is it," Ria breathed.

Sara blinked, leaning forward. "Are you all right?"

Ria's smile was a little too wide, a little too bright as she turned back to her friend. She nodded, letting go of one side of the card long enough to pull her fingers through her hair.

"I'm fine. Just fine," she said, glancing down at the faded denim jeans and long-sleeved, striped turtleneck sweater she had chosen to wear. With narrowed eyes, she muttered, "Maybe I should have worn something else?"

Sara gave a short laugh. "You look just fine, Ria. But you don't sound it. What's wrong?"

But Ria only shook her head. "I'm just a little… over excited. I mean, I'm meeting my uncle today. He's right here… right inside that house. Unless he's not home. Of course, I think he must be, there's a pick-up truck parked in front of me… unless that's his wife's. Maybe I should just go, come back when I'm sure he's here."

Her hands flew to her steering wheel, and although Sara had no way to actually affect her, she still rested a translucent hand on her trainee's arm.

"Ria! This isn't at all like you. Why would you get here to not even check? You should go knock. You owe yourself that much."

Ria's grip loosened on the wheel, just hanging there now. Her eyes were glued to the light blue front door, a wreath of fall leaves handing halfway down it.

"My mother doesn't know I'm here," she whispered, as if Sophy could somehow hear her daughter, despite the fact that they were well on the other side of the town's limits.

"You've kept it a secret. Of course she doesn't."

Ria's hands finally fell into her lap, and she tore her eyes away to stare at her ghostly friend.

"I feel like I'm hurting her. It's stupid, I know. But I bet she's known, this whole time, where Uncle… where her brother lived. If she wanted me to know, wouldn't she have told me? Maybe… maybe he's not… you know, as good as other members of our family have been. Maybe he's a slob. Maybe he's a drunkard. Maybe he shoots puppies for fun. Or, then again, maybe it's only Mom's severed family ties that have kept me from him. I don't know. I just feel like… like maybe I should have asked permission."

Sara smiled. "But you didn't. Because you were afraid she wouldn't tell you. Because you didn't want to fight with her again."

Ria laughed. "When did you get to know me so well?"

The ghostly woman flipped a nonchalant hand in the air. "Oh, somewhere between training you, going to school with you some days, and… oh, dear… whatever am I forgetting? Oh yeah, defeating _Dracula_ together always brings people closer, I think."

Ria laughed, resting her forehead on the steering wheel. When she leaned back, Sara only chuckled at her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"This time… I think it's okay to do what you want. Everyone has the right to know where they came from."

She was right, of course. With a decisive nod, Ria pulled the keys from the ignition and shoved them into her pocket, along with the now-worn business card. She reached over to the passenger floorboard and pulled her purse onto her shoulder.

"Let's do this," Ria said, opening the door and stepping out.

She was immediately hit with a freezing gust of wind, and she tightened her jacket about her. She swallowed hard, staring at the small porch that held the front door. It was as if her feet were suddenly frozen to the pavement below.

"Facing Dracula wasn't this hard," Ria groaned.

"Really? Maybe you ought to re-examine your life, if that's the case, Ria," Sara said, popping up beside her.

Ria jumped, shaking her head. Closing her eyes, she sighed and took the first step forward. Then, she followed it with another. On and on until, finally, she was face to face with the front door.

"Here goes everything," she said, raising her fist.

Her knuckles stopped less than an inch from the aluminum object. They hovered there a moment, her eyes wide like she was preparing to face some horrible truth beyond the entryway. Her chin wobbled, and for reasons totally beyond her explanation, she felt hot tears welling up. She whirled, making a beeline back for her car.

"I can't do it," she said as she passed Sara's shocked form.

She was at the driver's door, ready to climb in, when she heard the front door open. She turned, a small gasp leaving her in a puff of visible air. The man standing there, save for his dark hair and slightly lankier features, was undeniably her relative. His blue eyes were the same as Sophy's, as her own. His hair was long, dark, and hung just over his shoulders. His skin was even the same milky white as hers and Sophy's. He took a single step out onto the stone porch, eyes narrowed at her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Ria's mouth opened, but no words would come. His voice was rich and deep, and she pretended, in that moment, that that might have been how Grandpa Belmont would have sounded. He took one more step towards the edge of the porch, and when he spoke next, his voice was much more demanding.

"You've been sitting in your car in my driveway for a half an hour now. Who are you? What is it that you want? Are you lost?"

Ria forced her mouth closed, lightly biting her bottom lip. Then, summoning all the strength she had in her, she stepped around the front of her Rio.

"Um, a-are you Jason Belmont? Sophy Smith's brother?" she asked, hating the hesitation in her voice.

He stared at her a little harder then, his head caught halfway between nodding and not moving. His lips parted, and Ria held her breath.

"Who wants—" he began, but stopped, eyes growing wide.

He stepped off the porch, moving until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with the woman that he could not see.

"You're Adriana? Sophy's little girl?" he asked.

"Uncle Jason?" she asked, the words foreign on her tongue.

He nodded, smiling. "My God, Adriana. The last picture I saw of you, you were only this high."

He held his hand flat, just above his knee. Ria's smile was watery as she dared to step closer to her estranged uncle.

"It's Ria. You can call me Ria," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Jason crossed the distance between the two and pulled the girl into a warm hug. Ria didn't bother to hesitate, throwing her arms around him. He smiled down at her when he pulled back.

"Do you want to come inside? I make a mean cup of hot chocolate. We should catch up," he said.

Ria nodded. "I'd love that."

The inside of Jason's home was cozy and warm. He instructed Ria to hang her coat and scarf on the rack just inside the door as he bustled off to start on the hot chocolate. She followed after him, taking a little longer than he had, eyeing the pictures that hung in the hardwood hallway that seemed to lead right down the middle of the home. In several of them, Jason was standing with his arms around a very attractive woman with long raven hair and honey-colored eyes. In others, he was nowhere to be seen, replaced by people who looked incredibly like him. Ria closed in on one such portrait that looked faded and old.

Three people—two adults and one young girl—stood with their arms about one another. The girl looked like a perfect mix between the man and the woman who stood above her—her blue eyes mimicking those of the man who was obviously her father and her hair so like the golden locks of her mother's. Ria leaned in as closely as she could without her nose touching the glass, and gasped.

"Yeah, that would be your mother, standing with our parents, when she was only a couple of years younger than I guess you are now," Jason said, emerging through an open threshold behind Ria, causing her to jump nearly out of her skin.

"You scared me," she said, laughing. She glanced back at the picture, adding, "You and Mom both look just like the both of them."

"And you look just like your mother… but I can see a little of Jared in you. Hot chocolate's ready, if you want to come in the kitchen."

Ria followed him as he placed two red mugs down on an island counter top. Ria pulled herself up on the black stool that stood in front of it, and Jason pulled one around so that he could sit across from her. Ria lifted the mug, sipping the drink slowly. She smiled.

"You're right. This is one mean cup of hot chocolate," she said, holding the mug between her hands.

She gave an indiscreet glance over her shoulder. Sara was nowhere to be seen. She was so good at being polite, letting Ria have this moment with her uncle. She turned back to Jason, brow arched.

"Did you ever meet my father?" she asked. "And you said that you'd seen pictures of me, when I was little. Mom sent them to you?"

Jason blinked, confusion written all over his face. "No, I never did get to meet him, only saw him in pictures with you. I wished I had… he made your mother a very happy woman. And yeah, Sophy did send me pictures of you… several, actually, to both me and our parents. She… didn't tell you?"

Ria bit her lip again, looking away. "No. She didn't. Um, Mom and I have only recently become close."

Jason huffed a little sadly. "You didn't even know I existed, did you?"

Ria shook her head. "Not until recently too."

He sighed. "I figured as much."

Silence fell as he chose not to elaborate on this statement. Ria took another sip of her drink, just to give her something to do as she scanned her mind. There was so much she had planned to ask her uncle, about everything. But now that she was here… none of it would come to the surface. Finally, she cleared her throat, gesturing to the hallway.

"I saw a few pictures of you with someone. Is she your wife… my aunt?" she asked.

Jason smiled. "Yeah, Selene. We've been married for about… oh, lord, seven years? Has it really been that long? Yeah… seven. She's at work right now, and I'm afraid she won't be home until late… meeting. But I'd like to have you back to meet her."

Ria grinned, her heart swelling. "I'd really love that."

"You know… I was sorry to hear about your father's death. It must have been hard," he said.

Ria did an odd mix of shrugging and nodding. "I've learned to deal… a little."

"It must have been especially hard for you. I remember Sophy telling me how close you and your father were."

Ria grinned. "We were. Thank you."

"So," Jason said, lifting his voice. "what are you up to now? How old are you? I've lost track."

"I'm sixteen. As for what I'm up to… um… mostly school. Mostly."

Ten minutes into meeting her uncle for the first time, and she already had to lie. Stupid destiny. She reached over and gripped her purse out of sight, having refused to leave it hanging with her coat.

"Uh-huh. Mostly school? Favorite subject?"

"English… and history is a growing interest, I'm finding."

Jason nodded. "I think you'd get along with Selene. She's a professor at the college in the next town."

Ria's eyes brightened. "Really? What's her field?"

"English."

"Seems like the same subjects just float around our family, huh? How about you, Uncle Jason? What do you do?"

A smile was playing about Jason's lips as he looked away for just a moment. When he answered, it sounded like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"I'm… sort of freelance. I do a little of everything. Of course, I haven't been finding as much work as what I usually do. Seems that people haven't been having as much trouble as they used to. But I actually have a degree in history. It has its uses around here."

Ria huffed out a tiny laugh. "I bet."

The conversation stayed general between the uncle and niece for a long while after that, both eager to learn about each other's lives. By the end of it, both were laughing, sharing stories of times past and comparing notes on similarities. Finally, Ria sighed.

"Mom doesn't know I'm here," she blurted, no laughter in her voice.

Jason was controlling his, catching his breath as he replied, "I know."

She blinked. "How could you possibly know?"

"Well, more correctly, I guessed. Your mom and I used to be very close, Ria. We wrote to one another, sent each other pictures, talked on the telephone. And then, one day, we just drifted."

"Why?"

"Honestly? Family. Sophy wanted something different. She always has. The problem is… you can't pick your family."

"She's different, now. I mean, she's a better at family stuff. I think you ought to start speaking with her again. I could invite you over, after I've broken the news to Mom that I've come and seen you," Ria said, her voice a little pleading.

Jason nodded. "I miss her. If she's willing to have me over, I'll be there with bells on."

From somewhere else within the house, a clock chimed three, and Ria's eyes widened as she threw herself off the stool.

"Three already? I'm really sorry, Uncle Jason, but I've got to go. Mom… uh, gets a little jumpy if I'm out past dark without her having advanced knowledge of it."

Jason stood, nodding. "I understand."

Ria rushed out to the hallway, purse in hand, as she juggled it and putting on her coat and scarf.

"I'd love to take you up on your offer to come back and meet Aunt Selene, if that's okay," she said through holding her purse in her teeth, slipping her right arm into the sleeve of her coat.

Jason nodded. "Of course."

Ria muttered a last "bye" as she opened the door of the house. However, before she could take one step outside, Jason stopped her.

"Can I ask you one more thing, Ria?"

She turned, nodding. "Yeah. Ask away."

"Are you the reason Dracula's castle fell this summer?"

She froze, grip tightening on the door. Turning, her mouth agape, she could only stare at him. He laughed.

"I thought so. You have to remember, Ria, your grandparents tried to pass the Vampire Killer to me too. I've known for a little while that you and Sophy had moved into the manor. The whip accepted you?"

Ria shut the door, leaning back on it as Sara appeared beside her, the same shocked expression coloring her face.

"Yeah. Yeah, it did. And… yeah, I'm the reason."

Pride lit her uncle's features as his chest seemed to puff out.

"You fought Dracula? And, obviously you won… at sixteen? You must have had some trainer."

Sara couldn't help but smile at that. Ria, however, found that the shock would not leave her body just yet.

"Fifteen. I was fifteen," she murmured.

"Fifteen? Really? Now you're just bragging," he said, laughing.

"I had help."

He nodded sagely. "All good vampire hunters know when it's time to bring in a few extra hands. I'm glad that you had the good sense to do that."

"It was kind of forced upon me, but I still accepted it without really arguing. It's a long story."

Her legs were jelly. He knew… about all of it. Why was this such a shock? After all, Sophy had shouted it at her… shouted that the whip was supposed to be Jason's responsibility, not hers. And Sophy had known, and it had not affected her like this. Why was this so different? Suddenly, it hit her.

"You said you were freelance. Freelance what?"

Jason grinned. "Smart. I'm a freelance hunter. I fight off the vampires, werewolves, what-have-yous that tend terrorize the people of this town. But, like I said, I haven't had much work lately. I suspected it might have had something to do with you."

"Sorry."

He laughed, actually slapping his knee. "No, no. I didn't mean it like that. This is a good thing. Like I said… it's always good to have a few extra hands who know what they're doing."

Ria blinked, finally pushing herself off of the door. "There's some trouble now. Big trouble that I can't seem to find any info on."

Jason nodded, wiping the humor from his face. "I know. But what do you mean, you can't find anything on it? Not even from the Journals?"

Ria shook her head. "No. Nothing."

He sighed. "That's never good."

"But… but I did get a name recently! Galamoth," she said.

"Galamoth… Galamoth… I know that name. I've read it somewhere before… Hang on," he said, disappearing into another room.

Ria turned to see a hopeful expression crossing Sara's face. The ghost had her hands clasped, raised up under her chin.

"Oh, Ria, this could be just what we need!"

Jason returned, a small, leather-bound book in his hands. He handed it to Ria, who accepted it without a thought.

"It was in there, I'm sure, that I read it last. Look, if you need any help on this one, my number is on the paper I slipped in the cover. Call me, any time of the day or night. In fact, be sure to call me when you figure this one out. Some weird crap is happening around here, and I don't like it. I'll keep looking for information myself."

Ria nodded, tucking the book in her purse beside the Vampire Killer.

"Will do. But now, unless you've got any other major revelations for me, I've really got to go."

Jason nodded. "Nope. Got all the revelations covered. I look forward to your call. Drive safely."

Ria laughed. "Yeah, because driving is what's going to kill me."

With that, she was out the door.

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End Notes: Okay, so how was that one? A new character for your enjoyment! What did everyone think of Uncle Jason? I promise, there will be more of him to come. Please review!


	11. Late Nights

A/N- Okay, so I'm very excited. You see, I got a burst of inspiration for this story, and now have it mostly outlined—I say "mostly" because, although I know how this ends, I'm still arranging the sequence of events. So far, this is set at 18 chapters, total, but that's not complete. Like I said, I'm still outlining, so I do expect this one to make it over 20 chapters, most definitely, with an epilogue. And it'll probably go more chapters than that. So, just so everyone knows what to expect. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter!

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Chapter 10- Late Nights

School sucked. Of course, if Jared Smith had been alive—and had had the ability to read his daughter's thoughts—that sentiment would have gotten Ria in a lot of trouble. But then, she thought as she carefully juggled the book her uncle had given her inside her history book, it only sucked during certain periods. History, usually her favorite subject, had quickly turned into this for her. Hamm just had it out for her. And this was never as clear as now, as his shadow fell over her.

She grinned up, sheepishly, at him, and quickly shut her uncle's book, shoving it under her desk. Hamm sniffed, indignation written all over his features.

"So, you would prefer _independent_ studies to my own teaching?" he huffed.

Ria shook her head. "No, sir. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"You're right, Miss Smith. I want a five page paper on… hmm… how about, considering the upcoming season, the history of Halloween? Due Wednesday of next week," he said.

A couple of snickers rose from her classmates. Ria bit down a groan, and nodded as he turned to make his way back up the aisle. She turned to see a sympathetic look from Keisha, only to suddenly see her eyes go wide and bright. Throwing her arm up into the air, she cleared her throat, causing Hamm to put his attention back on their little corner of the class.

"Yes, Miss Stone?" he snapped.

"Mr. Hamm, sir, would it be okay if I made a school related announcement?" she asked.

He pressed his lips tightly together, as if weighing the pros and cons to each choice. Sighing deeply and running a hand through his thin hair, he nodded. Keisha muttered her thanks, and stood, addressing the entire class.

"I'd just like to say that it's been decided that we're having a Halloween dance this year. It'll be held two weeks before Halloween, so it won't interfere with any other plans that you might have. Costumes are required, but we'll be having a contest, with the first prize being a rather large cash sum."

She paused here, allowing the words "cash sum" to sink into her classmates' minds. Ria could almost see the dollar signs in their eyes when Keisha cleared her throat once to continue.

"If anyone's interesting, we're looking for a few volunteers to be on the planning committee to help with decorations, activities, and such. If you wish to join, please see the committee president—myself—or Mrs. Havish. Thanks."

Keisha grinned widely at Ria as she retook her seat, excited and curious whispers rising in the room. Even Ria had to admit that a Halloween dance sounded like a good time. It took Mr. Hamm several more moments to get everyone's attention back to him, and even then, the bell rang a few minutes later. Ria almost let out a very audible, "yahoo!" as she and the rest of her classmates rushed the door.

"And to think," Keisha said as soon as they had cleared the building for the crisp cold of the parking lot, "we just have to do this all again tomorrow."

"Mondays suck," Ria agreed.

They had no idea how they always managed to work it out, as no one in the school—save for the teachers—had assigned parking spots, but the two girls always found each other's cars in the morning, with a spot empty and waiting for the other. Ria and Keisha stopped at the front of their vehicles, taking a seat on their hoods, as they listened to the squealing of tires and the revving of engines as everyone else departed around them. Out of her backpack—which was, really, too small to be considered such—Keisha withdrew two canned sodas, tossing one to Ria, who smiled as she popped the tab.

"Got two free when I got one at break today," Keisha explained as Ria nodded.

"So, how did you get roped into being the one in charge of the dance?" Ria asked, sipping lightly from her drink.

"Roped into? Girl, don't you know how involved I am at this school?"

Ria shook her head. "I guess not. So, you're regularly the president of events like this?"

Keisha nodded. She balanced, rather gracefully, her can on one leg as she pulled her woolen gray jacket together and buttoned it. The sleeves of her hot pink sweater were still visible beneath the three-quarter length sleeves of her black jacket. Ria sighed, feeling suddenly juvenile as she zipped up her wind-suit jacket over her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt. Keisha was always dressed as if she might wind up at some sort of five star restaurant at any moment. Ria's dress code policy was, "if it's clean, matches, and comfy, it works." But Keisha never said anything about her friend's fashion sense—or lack thereof, to look at it that way—and if that was not friendship, then Ria didn't know what was.

"So, how was your weekend?" Keisha said, laughing as the line of cars grew at the parking lot's exit.

Ria smiled brightly. "I met my uncle."

Keisha spewed soda all over her jeans. Ria laughed. Nice to know that no one was perfect.

"No freakin' way! How did you find him? What happened? Tell me everything!"

And Ria did. Of course, she fudged the parts about the son of Dracula giving her the address. So she "found it" in the "library." That little white lie wasn't going to hurt anybody, was it? At the end of her story, Keisha nodded sagely.

"Sounds like a movie of the week to me, but that isn't a bad thing. Does your mom know about this visit?"

Ria bit her lip. "No."

"I thought you said that you and your mom had no secrets from one another anymore?"

"And that'll remain my tagline from now until the grave."

Keisha smiled as began to speak again, but was cut off by the tone of Ria's cell phone. Shaking her head, she slid off the hood of her car and sighed.

"You've got to get a better ringtone than just those standard ones, and I've got to go. Don't forget about dinner at my house Friday!"

Ria nodded as she pulled the phone from her pocket, casting her eyes down to the tiny display window. No name showed, only the number—and it was one she most definitely didn't recognize. Ria gave a short wave to Keisha as she pulled out to join the shortening line of cars, and with a groan and deep feeling like she might regret it, she flipped open the cell and hit "talk."

"H-hello?" she said.

"Do you trust me now?"

Ria froze. Alucard. How had he gotten her number? She searched her memory, staying quiet as she did so, only speaking again when she was absolutely sure that she had not given him her cell number.

"How did you get this? My number, that is," she asked, sliding off the hood and leaning against her driver's door.

"As much as I am loath to admit it, I stole it from your mother's address book. And you didn't answer my question," the dhampire replied.

Ria rolled her eyes. Well, if you were trying to avoid identity theft, apparently Sophy Smith was not the woman to go to. Her daughter is a fighter of all things nasty and evil, and she just leaves her phone number visible to all. That was a conversation that was coming, and coming fast.

"Yes," Ria finally answered, aware, vaguely, that he was still waiting for her.

It churned her stomach to say, so soon, that she trusted him. After all, all he had done was given her the address to her uncle's house. It wasn't like he cured some horrible disease. But, as far as the Throne and this Galamoth situation was going, she had to get all the help she could get. And trust was the only way to go with that.

"Good," he said. "Now, I'm sure that both you and I have information that differs from one another. One thing, however, is certain. Galamoth is a powerful foe. We'll need to pool our resources if we want to stand a chance. We need to meet again."

Ria fumbled with her car keys, unlocking the door and sliding inside, only to relock it. Like that was going to save her from any of the things that she fought.

"As long as it's not a hotel, okay," she said.

"Pardon?"

Ria laughed mirthlessly. "Never mind. Where do you want to meet?"

"The museum. It seems the simplest place. You can arrive under the pretense of visiting your mother, and I'm already there, fighting for the Throne."

She groaned. She hated using her mother like this, a cheap excuse. It made her feel wrong, and even ungrateful. Sophy was more than just a tool to get the job done.

"Is that unacceptable?" Alucard asked.

Supernatural hearing, Ria thought. He must have heard her groan.

"No. It's fine. Just a thought. Totally not important to the situation at hand."

"Very well. Tomorrow afternoon, then."

"Okay."

With no word of finality, the line went dead on the other end. Ria tossed her phone into the passenger seat, sighing. Apparently Alucard was not the polite, chatty type.

All work and no play make Alucard a boring boy.

Ria laughed as she started her Rio and threw it into reverse. She stopped a moment later, hitting her head on the steering wheel lightly, as her soda can rolled off the hood of her car onto the asphalt.

…

Isaac and Sara, upon hearing about this meeting with Alucard, had both insisted that they come along. Ria didn't argue with them. It would be nice to have the back up. After all, the last time she had gone to meet with an "Alucard" she had ended up regretting it. Of course, Sara had been present for that one too… so, if she thought really hard about it, it was Isaac—an all too corporeal person—that she was glad to have in addition.

But that night, despite the comforting thoughts of having her friends accompanying her, Ria lie wide awake. She rolled over to her right, her eyes locked on the whip, which was coiled in her vanity's chair. Maybe, if she thought hard enough, Sara would appear and spend some time with her. After a few moments of staring so intense it was beginning to give Ria a headache, she sighed. The ghost woman had set a rule firmly in place—from midnight until Ria woke in the morning, she would be nowhere to be seen. Unless, of course, Ria was in danger during such time.

Ria sighed and flopped back onto her back, eyes unfocused on the ceiling. Sara was convinced that she needed all the sleep she could get for school each day, so Ria could stare at the whip until her eyes melted. Sara wasn't going to show. So, finally giving in, Ria tossed her blankets off, planting her bare feet to the floor.

Belmont Manor was creepy with no lights on. Ria knew that, of all the places she had been since moving here, her own home was the safest of all of them. But that didn't stop the chill that crawled down her spine as she felt her way down the staircase—which, in itself, was an incredibly dangerous task. She couldn't risk a light, however, until she was downstairs. She didn't want her mother up, worried about her for no reason.

Ria's feet hit the bottom landing, and she paused. A light, most definitely coming from the dining room, shone into the hallway that separated that room from the living room. Ria tiptoed, as if afraid of getting caught, and peeked into the other room. With a sigh, and a slight smile, she stepped fully into the other room, stopping at the opposite end of the rectangular table.

Isaac, his head bowed as if suspecting his cup of coffee might move should he take his eyes off of it, started, his widened eyes falling upon Ria.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

Ria moved up the table, taking a seat to his right. "I could ask you the same thing."

The devil forgemaster shrugged, taking a tiny sip from his still steaming mug.

"Just couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same. What's keeping you awake?"

Ria snorted a laugh, shaking her head. "What isn't?"

Isaac raised a crimson brow. "You're not… nervous about meeting with Alucard, are you?"

Ria's eyes narrowed at him. The venom with which he spat the half-vampire's name seemed utterly uncalled for. Her lips parted, about to ask what that had been about, when she stopped. Thinking better of it, she only nodded. Isaac rolled his eyes.

"He's not worth the worry," he hissed, taking another drink.

Now it was Ria's turn to roll her eyes. Leaning forward, crossing her arms underneath her, she locked eyes with him.

"Have I not told you about the last time I had to visit with an 'Alucard'?"

He shook his head. She sighed.

"Well, let's just say, it was very uncomfortable. I followed him to his hotel room, and he made some… advances, which is the only way I can describe it. He even pinned me, just a little, up against the door to the room."

"Wait," Isaac said, holding up a hand. "You went with him… to a _hotel_ room? What in the world made you think that that was a good idea?"

She huffed, leaning back with her arms crossed. "Look, I thought he was one of the good guys at the time. You know, a white knight sort of deal. I didn't know he was Dracula then, now did I?"

Isaac laughed. "Still, though… not a smart move."

"Well, this time, you'll be there to _protect_ me."

The room fell silent after that, with Isaac frowning into his coffee. Ria wasn't entirely sure what she had just said that had sent the man into a spiral of depression… but she still felt bad about it. Biting her bottom lip, she decided that it was time for a quick subject change.

"So… we officially have nothing on this Galamoth, right?" she said.

Isaac laughed a bit ruefully, leaning back and kicking a leg up onto the table.

"Other than that it's connected to devil forging and Dracula's throne… and that apparently Alucard has some more information he's not willing to share until tomorrow, no… we know nothing. Haven't found anything in your uncle's book yet, have you?"

Ria shook her head. "It's literally an encyclopedia of demons. But it's not in any order, not like it should be. It's just been added onto whenever a new one was named. I'm trying, but nothing yet. But, what about this cult of Osiris? Those were the guys that threw that weird rock through my window. What's their connection with all of this?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, when I tried to search it at school, all I got that was that it was a cult that worshipped the ancient god Osiris, who was a god of the underworld in Egyptian mythology. And that symbol on the rock… it supposed to be a backbone."

Isaac's brow narrowed. "That's strange. That symbol, in devil forging, has nothing to do with the underworld. It has to do with manipulating time. It's the single, most powerful symbol there is, and is both feared and revered because of it."

Ria blinked. "Time and the underworld? I'm at a loss. How do those connect into one demon?"

Isaac shrugged, taking another drink of coffee. "Well, maybe _Alucard_ will be able to shed some light on things tomorrow."

Ria groaned. Tomorrow was shaping up to be some kind of fun. Apparently, Isaac was a man with a grudge against the son of Dracula. She knew she should ask, but thought better of it, letting another silence fall. Finally, Isaac shook his head.

"So, anything else going on in the world?"

"There's a costume Halloween dance coming up at school. I have no idea what I'm going as."

Isaac chuckled, his familiar sly grin finding its place on his lips. "What's Keisha going as?"

Ria frowned against her own will. "Catwoman."

"Oooh, very interesting."

"Of course it is."

Isaac arched a brow at her. "What?"

"Never mind. I was thinking about going as Poison Ivy… but I have no idea whether I could pull that off or not."

"Oh, I think you could. I could glamour your hair to be red… I don't know what you'd do about a costume."

"Oh, I can make one. I found a tutorial online for it," Ria said, pausing. After a moment, she added, "Isaac… how do you even know who I'm talking about?"

He jerked his thumb in the direction of the living room. "I've been watching this show that your mother says is… something about re-shown…?"

"Re-runs? Of what? They didn't have Poison Ivy in the 1960s Batman show," Ria said.

"Yes!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Re-runs of Batman… it's an animated show."

"Oh. That makes more sense."

"Very odd show. I mean, a man who disguises himself as a bat and stalks the night, doing the police's job for them."

Ria laughed. "That's sort of an… oversimplification. If Batman didn't exist, Gotham would be a hole in the ground. Joker would have blown it up long ago."

"You've seen this show?"

"Yeah. And the 1960s one. And read a lot of the Batman comics that they're based on. Batman was Dad's favorite superhero. Sort of became mine by default."

Ria stopped, blinking. Here she was, at two o'clock in the morning, discussing Batman… with Isaac. She shook her said, shoving back her chair and standing.

"Okay, I think it's officially time for me to go to sleep. This is all becoming too… surreal for me. Good night, Isaac."

Ria headed toward the stairs, shaking her head as she went, when Isaac stood.

"Ria?"

She stopped, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Yeah?"

He stopped for a moment, mouth open ever so slightly. Finally, he sighed.

"About Alucard… just… just be careful. He's not a saint."

Ria found that she could only stare at him for a moment. Finally, she simply nodded.

"Good night, Isaac," she repeated.

"Good night, Ria."

As she ascended the staircase, she found herself pondering the conversations of the night and concluded, as she collapsed back onto her bed, that she would probably chalk them all up to a weird dream in the morning.

* * *

End Notes: Okay, so, the Batman conversation… so wasn't planned. The characters, honestly, just began to talk without me. Also, I'm sorry that this chapter was sort of just filler, but I got in a couple of good hints of stuff to come too. Oh, and about the break thing at their school… I know they didn't do this in high schools everywhere, but the ones in my area had two periods of free time called either "snack" or "break." The first one was fifteen minutes, while the other was only five or six. I'm not sure what the purpose of them was, but we all would buy snacks and drinks and hang out until we had to go to class. Also, the line about "tagline to my grave" is a variation of mine of a favorite line from an episode of Friends. I promise that there's bigger things to come. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Also, I have a new poll up on my profile. Feel free to drop by and vote! Please review!


	12. Planning Committees

A/N- Sorry for the wait. I totally intended to put this chapter up about two weeks earlier than this, but I was suddenly without internet and full of a bunch of issues that this caused—not to mention my withdrawal symptoms as a result as well. But, without further ado, here we go!

* * *

Chapter 11- Planning Committees

"So, I was thinking," Keisha began as both she and Ria exited school the next day for the parking lot.

The two walked shoulder to shoulder, parting ways for just a moment to go around a boy from their class who had spilled some of the contents of his backpack into the parking lot. When they fell back into step next to one another, Ria raised a brow.

"Please tell me this has something to do with the ultimate destruction of the evil being we refer to as Mr. Hamm."

Keisha laughed, her long locks shaking along with her head. "No. What I was thinking was that I get to appoint my own VP on the Halloween's dance committee."

"Hmm," Ria murmured.

She was not quite sure she liked where this train of thought was heading. Dodging another student and daring to glance behind at the mass of those who had yet to make it to their cars, Ria turned her attention back to Keisha.

"I want you as my VP," her friend said bluntly.

Ria blinked, pursing her lips. Keisha was now staring right at her, brown eyes wide and happy.

"I, um, don't think that I can spare the time… you know, fit it in my schedule. I'm sorry, Keish," Ria said.

Keisha's heels almost made a squealing noise as she came to a dead stop in the center of the parking lot, throwing out her arm so that Ria stopped as well. Turning to face one another, Keisha stood akimbo.

"And what schedule is that?" she demanded.

The secret one, Ria thought, averting her eyes. The one that had her fighting whatever the hell this Galamoth was, the one that had her returning Dracula's Throne to the ruins of Castlevania, and the one that had to dealing with whatever other supernatural problems arose around her.

"Well, I have that report that Hamm gave me, and with school as well—" she muttered, but Keisha raised a hand.

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You _need_ this. A little fun in your life isn't going to kill you, Smith."

Ria opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. Finally, she shrugged.

"It's not… you know… _too_ girly, right?" she asked.

Keisha laughed. "Would that really kill you?"

"I don't know. I've never been close enough to find out."

Keisha nudged her friend playfully as they continued their walk toward their vehicles.

"I promise that it'll be loads of fun. I mean, a costume party? I know you and I haven't known each other long, but that seems right up your alley."

Ria grinned. Her thoughts drifted, blissfully, for a moment to some of her favorite scenes in some really old fantasy movies—_Labyrinth_ with the ball scene, _Legend_ with the scene where Lili was dancing with the dark figure, and several others. She had always really _loved_ those costumes with all their glitter and sparkle. And, in her most secret heart of hearts, she had always had fantasies of wearing such outfits. Plus, the irony of her destiny coupled with the fact that this was a Halloween dance was almost too much fun to ignore. Ria laughed.

"That _is_ true. I'm in."

"Awesome. So, to the café, or what?" Keisha asked as their cars came into view.

"Nope, sorry. I'm running some errands today that can't be helped. Maybe tomorrow?"

Keisha stopped again, her head cocked curiously to the side.

"Some errands with… Isaac?" she asked, some sort of grin playing about her lips as she pointed toward Ria's Rio.

Ria turned, only to shake her head. Sitting in the passenger seat of her car, with one knee propped up against the dashboard, and holding two of… something that she really couldn't make out at this distance, was Isaac. After a moment of gaping at him, he finally caught the two girls' stares, grinning up at them.

"Yeah," Ria said offhandedly. "Errands with Isaac."

"Oh la la," Keisha said.

"What?"

She laughed. "Nothing. See you tomorrow!"

She took off ahead of Ria, waving cheerily at Isaac as she headed toward her own car. Then, turning around just as she reached the hood of her vehicle, she called, "Ria! One more upside to working on the dance!"

Ria headed for her own car at a slow pace, calling back, "Yeah?"

"We get to miss some class!" Keisha said just before slipping inside her vehicle and starting it up.

Within moments, she was in the line of other student cars at the exit of the parking lot. Ria grinned. Now that _was_ an upside. Of course, it would be even better if it was Hamm's class.

Finally reaching her own driver's side, Isaac gestured lazily at her door, and Ria took that to mean that it was unlocked. Trying the handle, she found that she was right, and she slipped into the seat, slamming the door after her.

"My car was locked. How the hell are you sitting in here?" she asked the forgemaster.

Being so close to him now, Ria could see—and smell—that it was two steaming thermal cups of coffee that he held. He extended the left one out for her to take, and shrugged after she did so.

"I have my ways," he said, sipping lightly on his own coffee.

Ria glanced up at her rearview mirror, seeing Sara appear in the center of her backseat.

"It's rather boring being left in a car for eight hours," she noted.

"You lived in the Gallery for _years_," Ria pointed out.

"Well, I've grown accustomed to some things," she huffed.

Ria rolled her eyes, taking a long sip out of her coffee. She grinned as she removed it from her lips, looking over at Isaac.

"Did you add… pumpkin spice to this?" she asked.

"And cinnamon. After I bought it, of course. You like it?"

She nodded. "Better than sex."

With a sly grin on his face and a crimson brow raised, Isaac looked on the verge of hilarity. Even Sara leaned forward to stare at her trainee. Ria blushed a deep red.

"I, uh… what I mean, um, ah… We're dropping this!" she said, reaching for the ignition.

"And, you are a, um, expert in this?" Isaac laughed, totally ignoring Ria's previous statement as she pulled into the line of cars to the exit.

Sara was chuckling. Ria glanced in the rearview to see her put a hand, daintily, against her mouth to try and quiet herself. Glaring back over in Isaac's direction—who was simply Cheshire with his grinning—Ria's eyes fell to the two, purchased cups of coffee.

"How did you even buy those, anyhow?" she spat, making it to the road far quicker than she had anticipated.

"With money," he answered smoothly.

But where _did_ Isaac get his money? Ria was moments away from firing that exact question back at him—after all, for as long as she had known him, he had been buying coffees, but the former devil forgemaster fell solemn suddenly.

"What do you think that dearest Alucard has to share with us?" he said, trying in vain to keep his tone even.

Ria blinked, shaking her head. "Have no idea. Hence the meeting."

Without bothering to wait for any sort of other remark about Alucard—dearest or not—Ria reached up to the visor above her and fingered through, as best as possible, the CDs found there. After a moment, she drew one out and handed it to Isaac, asking him to tell her what it was.

With a questionable glance, he muttered, "Prince's greatest hits?"

Ria grinned and heard, very loudly, Sara groan. She glanced up in the mirror to see the ghostly woman lean back in the chair, shaking her head.

"Not Prince again," she asked, not without a hint of pleading.

"Sorry, but I really feel like listening to some 'When Doves Cry' and 'Thieves in the Temple,'" Ria shrugged.

Isaac glanced over as he slid the CD into the player. "Are the songs any good?"

"The first ten times I heard them," Sara hissed, and Ria laughed, choosing not to relay this to Isaac.

"I don't have to listen to this," she said to her friend, utterly ignoring Isaac's question as "When Doves Cry" began to play.

Sara looked on the verge of accepting her offer when she paused, sparing a moment's grin at Isaac's obvious annoyance at being left out of the conversation loop.

"Isaac mentioned that you were… uneasy about this meeting," she said as Ria stopped at a red light.

Ria cast her eyes downward for a moment, and Isaac knitted his brow.

"What am I missing?" he asked, but, again, Ria ignored him.

"Yeah. I guess I don't have to tell you why," she said.

"I was there, yes. I hadn't realized, though, that that had affected you so much."

Ria shrugged, having to stop herself from flooring it when the light turned a bright green.

"Neither did I."

With a tinkling laugh then, Sara waved her hand dismissively.

"Your 80s music relaxes you. Don't let me take that from you."

"Thanks," Ria grinned as Isaac growled.

"Seriously! What did I miss?"

"Nothing," she giggled, Sara joining in, as she made the turn into the museum parking lot.

All humor disappeared as the three occupants of the car let their eyes fall upon the lot. A handful, just a single handful, of cars were all that was visible. And Ria knew that at least three of the… ten, she counted quickly, belonged to Sophy, Darren, and Alucard's group—provided they traveled all in one vehicle. Museums, by all logic, were not exactly a hot hangout spot as it was, but this one seemed to do very well at keeping their visitors coming back. None of them had ever seen it this empty.

Ria pulled into a front parking spot, glancing at the digital clock on her CD player before cutting the engine. She turned in her seat to face Isaac as he only stared from the corner of his eyes.

"Something's wrong," Ria whispered.

Sara shook her head. "But… there can't have been any sort of attack… your mother would have known to get out."

Ria's mind had yet to fully travel to "attack." Now that it had been voiced, she threw open her door, reaching behind to grab the Vampire Killer—which set in the seat behind Isaac.

"Let's find out," she said, her friends losing no time following her.

Ria and Isaac—with Sara only drifting behind—almost took down the museum's entrance as they crashed through it. At first, the hall they entered had no one, and they progressed further, both tensed and ready for a fight. Slowly, they eased around a left hand corner, and instantly, Ria felt a little nauseous. She stopped, the Vampire Killer barely hanging in her grip, as she leaned up against one of the museum's protective, attached, railings.

"Ria?" Isaac asked, bending forward. "Ria, what is it?"

She swallowed down the bit of bile she felt crawling its way up her throat, forcing herself fully erect once again. Shaking her head, she muttered, "I don't know."

From further up the hall, a shrill voice hissed to them, having no trouble reaching their ears, "Ria!"

She lifted her head, letting her eyes find the sound of clacking heels coming toward her. Sophy, eyes wide, was almost coming at her in a run. Ria narrowed her eyes, moments from asking her mother what it was that had her so concerned. Before she could voice the question, however, Sophy made it known.

"The whip," she hissed. "What do you think you two are doing? Put it away!"

Ria gasped, not even realizing that her ancestral whip was still handing limply at her side. With an almost squeak-like shock, she rolled it up as quickly as possible, shoving it into the purse she had not remembered grabbing. Isaac, apparently relieved to see Sophy so unharmed, allowed himself a tiny laugh.

"Sorry," Ria muttered, placing a gentle hand to her stomach.

Out of the corner of her eye, a pale, translucent hand sat upon her shoulder. She turned to see Sara's eyes focused only on her, the worry clear in her crystal eyes. Ria only shook her head. Sophy let a tiny laugh out and smiled.

"What are you doing here, Ria? And, although I am your mother, I love you, and very much want to be a part of your life, I also have a meeting I have to return to in, like, five minutes. Literally. So make your explanation fast, dear."

"Oh, uh," Ria stuttered, finding it unusually hard to regain her train of thought. Whatever it was that had hit her still had her reeling and feeling like she might be revisiting her lunch soon. "We were just… visiting you."

"Visiting me?"

Ria nodded. After a moment, she grinned and added, "Oh, and I have a report due on the origins of Halloween. I thought the museum might have something I could start with."

Sophy crossed her arms, and Ria tried her best—despite the awful lies and sudden nausea—to keep her earnest smile in place. She truly hated the idea of using Sophy as a quick, 'get-out-of-jail-free' type of reason. She knew that the museum did not have squat in the department of Halloween origins. But in her desperation, and in her guilt—since, as she reminded herself, there was so much that Sophy did not know about at the moment—she had thrown in the report. Finally, however, her mother only sighed.

"Sorry, sweetie. I don't think we have anything that could help," she said.

Ria shrugged. "Then I guess we're just visiting."

"And I'm afraid I'm cutting that a bit sort. I've got to get back to these damned—" she stopped, seeming to think better of it. "Well, I've got to go. Maybe you can chat with Darren while you wait on me? He's by that Throne we're fighting so hard to keep."

Ria pursed her lips, nodding. Saying a quick bye to Isaac, and whispering one as well to Sara—which was obviously appreciated by the unseen ghost—Sophy left for her meeting. With a sigh, Isaac glanced over at Ria.

"That works," he muttered, gesturing the way ahead.

She nodded, taking the lead. Her steps were slow, and her body felt weak and tired. It was very much like coming down with a bad flu or something. But she had not been feeling that way until she had turned that corner. Isaac and Sara both eyed her closely, but she put on her best "tough girl" face as the three—two, to everyone else—emerged into the open display room that held the Throne.

"Ah," she moaned quietly, coming to a dead stop.

"What is it?" Isaac asked, leaning over her.

"Can't you feel it?" she hissed.

He did not get a chance to respond as Darren, glancing up from his place in front of the Throne, waved them over. Ria bit down that nauseous and weak feeling once again, crossing her arms low over her stomach in a vain attempt to quell the ache without looking like it. She came to stop right in front of Darren, who, for a moment, looked a little lost. Then, with a sheepish grin, he stuck out a hand for her to shake. It took a second longer, but it finally hit Ria why he had looked so confused.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what my time limit is that you have to be dating my mom before I accept hugs, so good call," she laughed, taking his hand.

He chuckled. "I thought that that was the vibe I was getting." Turning his hand to Isaac now, he added, "How are you?"

"Very well," Isaac muttered as Darren put his attention back on Ria.

"So, what brings you here? All the hip, cool action?"

She fought hard not to roll her eyes at that terribly awful joke, opting instead for a polite laugh.

"Yeah, that's it," she said, sarcasm dripping forth before she could stop it. With a quick shake of her head, she added, "Actually, I was just dropping in to see if Mom needed me to do anything. You know, a quick visit."

"Aw, well, that's nice. Sorry that she's stuck in a meeting. Those Reps are really giving us a runaround."

Isaac scoffed, a dark grin on his face. "Yes, their leader seems to be a particularly hard-headed man."

Ria's eyes widened as Sara shook her head. This was shaping up to be just a _fun_ little meeting. Laughing, Darren nodded.

"You don't know the half of it," he said, garnering a harder laugh from the forgemaster.

"Yeah," Ria said with a laugh that was so obviously fake. "That's _great_."

She backhanded Isaac across the arm, making it look like nothing more than a playful slap. However, the red print left and the jump that Isaac gave afterward proved that she had put much more power into it. Sara chuckled.

After all, Ria did not know much about half-blooded vampires, but she was pretty sure that, especially being only a few rooms away, Alucard probably had pretty awesome hearing. The last thing she needed was an all-out pissing contest between her blood-bonded friend and the son of his former master.

"Oh," Darren moaned, placing a hand to his stomach.

Ria's eyes shot to her mother's boyfriend. "Are you all right?"

"It's nothing," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me."

Ria exchanged quick glances with her two comrades before another wave of nausea hit her as well. She bit down, a little harder than she had intended as she tasted blood, on her bottom lip, refusing to cry out with the ache. But Isaac saw it, and, before he could stop himself, he placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. Darren's brow arched, and Isaac's hand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"So, uh, how's school?" Darren asked.

"Fine. Good."

"That's good."

Darren moaned again, his hand clutching his abdomen this time when he placed it there. Ria knew exactly how he felt. He shook his head.

"I don't know what's up with me. I felt fine after lunch," he muttered.

Isaac stared between the two. Taking a deep breath, Darren tried once again to continue his casual conversation.

"So, you've made friends here, right? I thought your mother had mentioned a name," he said.

"Yeah. Keisha Stone."

"Oh, Sergeant Stone's daughter?"

"You know her dad?"

Darren chuckled, and it looked like it pained him to do so. However, he pushed on, saying, "Yeah, I met him once or twice. I've never met Keisha, but he talks of her often. She's his whole world."

Ria grinned, and again felt the bile threaten to crawl up her throat. "Yeah. I kind of get that from her clothes allowance."

"Oh," Darren moaned, leaning forward.

Ria and Isaac rushed to him, with Ria bending to look the man in the eye.

"Are you all right?" she asked, alarm making her words loud.

"I'm sorry, Ria, but… I think I better… get to a restroom," he said, turning on heel and dashing off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Ria all but fell to the floor, kneeling before Isaac who stooped to stare at her.

"Ria!" Sara called. "What's wrong?"

"Are you all right?" Isaac asked.

"The Throne," she groaned, wrapping her arms tighter about herself. "It's worse. Can't you feel it?"

Isaac shook his head. "Not really. I mean, it feels like it's emanating more strongly, but other than that, I feel fine."

"And I'm dead," Sara noted, and Ria acknowledged her words with a nod, turning to Isaac.

"Yeah, well, maybe you can't feel it because of your former allegiance to its owner."

"That's true," he agreed. "What's it doing to you?"

"I feel really… really sick," she muttered, her head bowing forward.

The lights were simply becoming too bright. It was always like this, every time she was sick. The last time she had been struck with a really bad case of the flu, she had had to spend a week in her bedroom with the lights off. And because of this newfound sensitivity, she heard the clack of gentlemen's dress shoes approaching. She knew they were right before her—she could see them now, in their shiny blackness that was still too bright—but she could not lift her head.

"What's wrong?" Genya's—Alucard's—voice asked.

"It's the effects of the Throne," Isaac explained, and Ria was honestly surprised to hear no venom in his voice.

"Here," Alucard said, kneeling down and pressing a small, brown leather drawstring bag into her hand. "Wear this around your neck. Its herbs will help shield you a little longer."

Ria saw the leather strap was plenty large enough to do just that, and she quickly slipped it over her head. The effect was instantaneous. The nauseous left just as suddenly as it had appeared, and the strength returned to her limbs. Alucard offered a pale hand to her, and she took it, the two rising to their feet.

"Thanks," she said, tucking the bag under her shirt.

Isaac was glaring daggers, but he, wisely, chose to say nothing.

"You're welcome, but this is only a temporary solution. There's only one that will be permanent."

"Getting the Throne back to the ruins," Ria nodded.

"How did you know to bring the herbs?" Isaac asked, his voice dangerously close to snapping.

What the hell was up with these two? Apparently, the question was clear on her face since Sara leaned around to answer it.

"You have to remember, Ria, what sides these two were on when last they met."

"True," she said aloud, causing Alucard to regard her with a very confused stare. She grinned, adding, "Never mind."

"To answer your question, Laforeze," Alucard said without sparing the former forgemaster a glance, "I felt the emanations growing stronger when I was here yesterday. They were already quite strong when I saw the two of you break in to investigate."

"That was you?" Ria asked, incredulous.

He nodded. "I was doing a similar investigation."

"I would think that breaking and entering was beneath the great Master Alucard," Isaac said, crossing his arms.

This time, Alucard did shoot him an icy glare. Before the dhampire could pose an answer, Ria interrupted.

"So, what do you know about this Galamoth?"

Both sets of eyes fell to her as Alucard sighed.

"He's a demon, and a powerful one. I might even wager that he's a bit more than _just_ a demon. When I fought him, he was clearly Egyptian in origin. He commanded great strikes of lightning, and looking something like a dead jackal or dragon."

Ria arched a brow. "That's a big leap, between jackal and dragon."

"I've heard both," the dhampire admitted with a wry grin. "But I thought jackal."

She grinned. It was nice to see that even hundreds of years old half-blooded vampires had senses of humors. Isaac rolled his eyes, obviously not sharing in this sentiment. Shooting a glare so quickly at the devil forger that Ria wasn't quite sure she had even seen it, Alucard continued.

"I'm afraid that that's the extent of my knowledge on him. I was on a very different mission at the time. But I could tell when I fought him that he was capable of much more than what he was giving me. He was obviously bound."

"Well, obviously," Isaac hissed.

Alucard, thankfully, ignored him. "What is it that you've been able to gather?"

Ria shook her head. "Not much more. We only recently got his name, so we didn't even know he was a demon. Someone threw a weird rock through my window some time ago, and it had the symbol of the cult of Osiris on it."

"Which, in devil forging, is the symbol of time… a very powerful one," Isaac put in.

"And, to the cult, it symbolizes the underworld," Ria said, nodding along to Isaac's words. "My uncle gave me a book that he thinks has a passage about Galamoth in it, but it's a huge book and not in any order. I haven't come across anything yet."

"So, all in all…" Sara said, glancing between Ria and Isaac. Isaac unwittingly voiced the rest of her thought aloud.

"We have nothing."

Ria and Sara groaned. As fascinating as it was to hear a first-hand account of an event in her family's journals, it was so not why she had agreed to this meeting. Alucard shook his head, taking a moment to glance down at his watch.

"I have to return to the meeting soon, to keep up pretenses. But I have an idea."

"At this point, I'll take anything," Ria said.

"I have… a source, in a manner, that I might be able to contact. He'll know something about Galamoth, I'm sure of it."

"Sounds like a plan. When will you contact this source?"

"It takes some preparation. I'll have to contact you at a later date to let you know. But you'll be kept informed."

"Okay. We'll keep looking on our end, too."

"I have a question," Isaac said, lazily raising a hand. When no one verbally acknowledged his words, he continued, "What are we going to do about this Throne? You saw what it was doing to Ria, and it looks like it did a number on Darren too."

Sighing, Alucard only shook his head once more. "We have to find a way to stop it. Perhaps it'll be as simple as returning it to Castlevania's ruins."

"Which is easier said than done," Ria noting, gesturing to the surrounding museum.

"Indeed," the dhampire said. "Well, I must be returning. Until our next meeting."

"Oh, um, Aluc—ah—Mr. Arikado?" Ria began. "Do you think that you can, um, take it a little easier on my Mom and Darren? I mean, they don't know what's at stake."

With a slight grin, he nodded once. "As you wish."

"Let's go," Ria said, turning and making her way back up the hall.

Although the herbs shielded her from the Throne's growing emanations, she could still feel them there, like they were on the outside pushing in. The faster she could get away from it, the better.

"You go on. I've got, um, personal business to attend to nearby. I'll be home later," Isaac said.

Ria arched a brow at him, but chose not to say anything else. Seeing Sara beside her, the two only took their leave.

…

Isaac, as soon as Ria had disappeared from sight, turned to leave as well, when Alucard's voice called him to a halt.

"Laforeze, a moment?"

Isaac turned, his utter lack of love for the man before him more than evident on his face.

"Yes, if you could make this quick."

Alucard nodded once. "Then I shall not mince words. I don't know what your plans for this Belmont is, but… she's just a child. I know that the two of you are bonded through a blood spell, but I know you of long ago. She is much needed in this world, especially as… strong-willed as she is. It would be best that, whatever that plan of yours may be, that you simply leave her be."

Isaac growled, snarling at the dhampire.

"Obviously, the dearest prince doesn't believe that people can change," he hissed.

"Not people like you."

The words were cold, and they bit deep. But Isaac only shook his head.

"Despite your great doubts, _young master_, I have no agenda. I could… never harm Ria. I _would never_ harm her."

He put his back to the dhampire as Alucard said, "Forgive me, but, judging on crimes past, I find that hard to believe."

Isaac took a mere four steps away before he turned at the waist to give an acidic grin to the other man.

"And if _I_ remember correctly, _I_ wasn't the one who had trouble with knowing where my loyalties lie."

No more words were spoken as Isaac strode from the museum, leaving a snarling Alucard behind him.

* * *

End Notes: It's been quite some time since I last had an Isaac POV scene, so I thought it might be fun to have an Alucard vs. Isaac moment. There's a little more to what was said, but that's for later. Also, I know that everyone reacted differently to the Throne, and although I had my reasons for why, I chose not to bore all of you with them. If you want to know, ask and I'll reply with the answer. So, was that a fun chapter? A little development, some repeated information, but I promise that more action—and info—is up ahead. I've about got this story outlined completely. It will be 25 chapters and an Epilogue. Oh, and this chapter continued me putting in little details of myself into Ria while keeping her completely different from myself. This time, it was her favorite Prince songs. I absolutely love "When Doves Cry" and "Thieves in the Temple," along with several others. Well, hope you enjoyed, please review!


	13. Mystical Trips

A/N- Thanks for all the great reviews on this! I'm trying—as real life and my deadlines permit me—to keep this fairly regularly updated. But I can't promise quickly… I can promise that I'll try. Hey, at least it wasn't a year between chapters 10 and 11, right? Right? Anyhow… on with the show!

* * *

Chapter 12- Mystical Trips

As it turned out, decorating and planning the activities that would surround the Halloween dance was _really_ fun. Of course, it did not hurt that Keisha was the boss, and, to a slightly lesser extent, so was Ria. It was the first of October, and the party was rushing toward them fast. And, unfortunately, Keisha knew this. Ria was the only one spared the craziness that was—what the volunteer decorators were referring to as—the Plannzilla.

"Oh my God!" Keisha screamed across the gymnasium. "We're out of black crepe paper! Who runs out of black crepe paper on _Halloween_?"

Ria shoved a hand to her mouth as she heard a freshman behind her mutter, "Plannzilla is on the rampage! Run, dear God, run for your lives!"

"What was that?" Keisha snapped, whirling on heel.

"I coughed," Ria covered as the poor kid—who was really not young enough to be called a kid by Ria, being only a year below her—visibly paled.

He had had a good reason to blanch. Keisha, in full party panic mode, was quite a formidable sight. Her usually well done hair had gained a bit of crazy frizz to it, and although her clothes were as stylish and impeccable as always, there was just something… off about them. Maybe they had a few tiny wrinkles in them or something? Shaking her head, her eyes on her watch, Ria stepped forward and wrapped a comforting arm around her friend.

"We've been here for two hours now… not including the time we took out of our classes to work on this. It's looking great and we still have plenty of time. Why don't we all go home and sleep?"

Of course, sleep was out of the question for Ria. The meeting with Alucard had produced nothing but more questions. The first on her mind being, "what was the point of the meeting?" But surely having the half-blood vampire son of Dracula on her side had to add some sort of brownie point to her score. This thought alone comforted her as several others encircled her daily thoughts. The effects of the Throne would kill them all if it was not handled, and soon. And she had still not found the passage of Galamoth in her Uncle Jason's book. She was beginning to despair that that was even a passage in there at all. And Jason was his own problem, as she still had not shared that she had met him with her mother.

Keisha, looking much more tired than she had previously seemed, sighed and nodded. The gym cleared in record time.

"Oh lord," Keisha muttered, shaking her head. "When did Mrs. Havish leave?"

Ria laughed. "About an hour and a half ago. She told me to tell you, and I did, but I guess you didn't hear me."

Her friend shook her head, sighing. "And did you see everyone run out of here? Tell me something, Ria, and be totally honest."

"Okay."

"Am I, like, a _total_ bitch when I'm working on this dance?"

Ria could not help but let her eyes dart around, looking for any teacher that may have heard this profanity. Not only did that make her feel juvenile, but stupid as all the teachers had officially left at about the time Mrs. Havish had.

"No," she said, sounding just barely convincing. Keisha laughed.

"Just a little?"

"Yeah."

"Let's get the hell out of here," Keisha said, grabbing up her large purse.

The two had cleared the gym with the student parking lot in sight when Keisha lightly slapped Ria's arm to gain her attention.

"We're having roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions Friday for dinner at my house. You okay with that? Not allergic to any of it, are you?"

Ria grinned, hoping that the blush she thought she felt creeping to her cheeks was imagined. She had completely forgotten about dinner with Keisha amongst all the supernatural crap that had occupied her mind.

"No, it sounds yummy," she said.

Keisha lifted a brow, and Ria cursed her reddened cheeks. Thankfully, Keisha only shook her head and skipped over to her car, waving a cheery goodbye before driving off. Ria shook her head, climbing into her own Rio and heading toward home. She found herself more than grateful that the museum was not her destination today, herb charm or no. That Throne creeped her out in more ways than one, and it only served as a giant reminder of things that, so far, she was failing at.

She pulled into the driveway, and trudged through the door, dropping her backpack with a heavy sigh.

"Welcome home," Isaac called from the living room.

Ria rounded the corner into the room to find the former forgemaster lounging—as he often did—across the couch, and Sara sitting in the chair opposite. The TV was on some sort of sporting event, but Ria could only shake her head.

"Shouldn't we be researching Galamoth instead of watching some craptastic sport?"

He glanced up at her, a grin tugging at his pale lips. "Craptastic?"

She shrugged. "Word of the day."

"I don't care for it," Sara muttered, and Ria rolled her eyes.

"Galamoth was the subject I started with. Why with the not researching?"

Isaac set up, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his silky black shirt for apparently no reason as the temperature was very reasonable in the manor.

"We've exhausted every source, save for the dhampire's and the book you have."

"And it would have killed you to pick it up and read through for the passage while I was at school?"

He shrugged. "I didn't know where you left off."

"I have a Darkwing Duck bookmark right at the page where I stopped."

"Sorry," he said, and for a moment, he looked as if he really meant that.

However, he only lay back across the couch. Sara looked over at her trainee with sad eyes, and began to stand when Ria only held up a hand to stop her.

"Never mind. It only takes one to read. I'll yell if I find anything."

She was laying across her bed, the book opened up to the purple, duck-decorated bookmark moments later. She skimmed each handwritten page—which did nothing for the readability of the volume. She had flipped through another thirty pages, at least, until her eyes finally lit up. Halfway down the right-hand page, written in a larger hand, the word Galamoth was underlined, a colon separating it from the passage that followed. Excited, she flipped the page, eyeing the length. Only a page and a half… that was discouraging. But at least she had something… maybe. She flipped back over to the beginning of the passage, immersing herself in the words.

"Galamoth is a most fearsome demon, perhaps more frightening than Dracula, or even Satan himself," it read, and Ria visibly gulped.

This was not shaping up to be a particularly fun read.

"A demon of unknown origin, his first recorded disturbance is several thousand years ago. His goal then was as it remains to this day: to unleash Hell on Earth and reign over it as its king. "

Ria rolled her eyes. What was with these villains and ruling over Hell? What made Hell so great? Hot and stinky were always the first two thoughts that came to mind when she thought of the place, and frankly, who wants to put up with hot _and_ stinky at the same time? She glanced down, noticing that the handwriting on this passage was a tad bigger than what it had been on the passages before. She sighed. She knew what that meant.

"For a time, Galamoth ran rampant, unchallenged, until—mysteriously—he was defeated and bound to yet another evil. His great powers impeded, he called upon his human servants within the cults of both Osiris and Anubis, with the Osiris cult being the more prominent worshippers."

Ria raised a brow. Well, that was something new. They had more than one cult to worry about, which was bad, but a major good was that as least the followers were nothing more than human.

"Galamoth has no known weaknesses, and was only bound after a great battle. Should he ever be freed, the world would be in mortal peril. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal."

Ria flipped the page back and forth, her eyes wide. Was that it? That was all this huge, demon encyclopedia had to offer her on a demon that was, to quote the writing itself, "perhaps more frightening than Dracula, or even Satan himself"?

"No freakin' way," she hissed, pulling her legs around so that she sat on the very edge of her mattress.

She lifted the heavy tome, flipping frantically through it, her eyes searching for any other mention. That could not be it! Save for the mysterious "source" that Alucard was supposed to be contacting, the book was their only lead on Galamoth. But, alas, that was all there was about the demon within the book's pages. Growling, and not quite sure why she was going to do what she was about to do, she lifted the tome by its front and back cover only, shaking it violently over the floor.

"Come on! There's _got_ to be something else!" she all but screamed at it.

And that's when she heard it. Between the rustling of the shaken papers, a dull thud hit her carpet. One blonde brow raised, she tossed the book carelessly over her shoulder, leaning down over the glint of gold that had appeared before her. It was a small coin, old and worn by time, no bigger than a modern day quarter. Ria slid from her bed, kneeling closer to the object. On the side facing upward was clearly printed the symbol of Osiris. She reached for the coin, stopping only inches from it, thinking better.

She may have only been at this fighting evil gig for a year, but she had picked up quite a few pointers thus far. One of them being similar to the rule of thumb at the museum Sophy worked: look with your eyes, not with your hands. Still kneeling by the coin, Ria turned her head toward the door of her room.

"Isaac! Isaac, come here!" she cried out.

She heard his rushed footfalls pounding up the stairs moments before her bedroom door burst open. Sara appeared across from the coin from her only seconds earlier. The forgemaster's eyes looked wild with something akin to worry as he looked down at her.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" he asked, dropping down beside of her.

She raised a brow. "In my own room? Not so much. I found something. I haven't touched it."

She pointed to the coin before her knees, and Isaac's eyes widened. His tongue shot out, wetting his lips, as he allowed his hand to hover, just inches away from the coin. Out of the corner of her eye, Ria saw Sara move beside her and kneel down to get a better look. After a moment, she shook her ghostly head.

"I don't recognize it," she concluded.

"Where did you find it?" Isaac asked, leaning back on his haunches.

She pointed to the book, laying haphazardly back on her bed. She explained quickly about the rather unhelpful passage, Isaac's and Sara's attention locked solely on her.

"And it has the symbol of the cult of Osiris on it."

No one spoke for a moment. The former forgemaster simply continued to stare at the coin, his eyes unfocused and lost. Finally, Ria leaned in and waved her hand in front of him. He blinked, shaking his head.

"So… what do you think?" she asked, drawing out the words.

"I have a plan. It's a spell, a very complicated one."

Ria raised a brow. "What does it do?"

"And what about Sophy?" Sara put in.

"Mom's out with Darren tonight. I don't think we have to worry about it, especially since they got a late start on it," Ria answered.

A very strange late start. Darren had actually shown up at Belmont Manor a full hour early, a very sophisticated camera in hand. Two hours later, he had fully detailed photographs of every room in the manor that Ria had allowed him into. Sophy had not seemed bothered by this at all, but it set Ria's teeth on edge. Isaac cleared his throat, bringing the young huntress back to the present.

"The spell will allow you to access the memories imprinted onto this coin by its last owner. Essentially, I'll put you into a trance, perform the spell, and you'll wake up inside someone's memory, seeing it and living it."

Ria's ears perked. She knew exactly what this spell was.

"Sara and I did something like this last year. She showed me her memories of when she was being held by Walter. It was fairly simple, though."

Isaac nodded, seeming pleased that she had some sort of experience with this.

"It'll be a little different than with Sara. Those memories were shared with you directly by the person who experienced them. This spell works the same way, but since our source is rather indirect, it'll come to you a little… foggier."

Ria nodded once. "Then let's do this."

"Just like that?"

"Why not? This is the best chance for a lead on Galamoth that we've had come to us in a while, especially since we don't know what Alucard is up to. I don't think we have anything to lose."

Isaac had a strange look on his face then, like he wanted to say something that he was not sure that he should. However, after a moment, he only nodded and darted from the room, saying that he to gather a few things. In his absence, Sara took a seat by Ria's right, her head cocked to the side so that she could look her trainee directly in the eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Ria?"

Ria pursed her lips. "No. Why do you ask?"

Sara crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Oh, no particular reason. It's just that you still get this… look in your eye whenever you have to mention Darren. I thought you and your mother had made your peace with the idea that Sophy was dating."

Ria shook her head. "I won't lie and say that I'm totally okay with that aspect. I'm not. But that's not what bothers me. I just… don't trust him, you know? Who comes to his date's home early to photograph it?"

"An archaeologist."

Ria was not convinced, but decided that Sara might have a point. She only shrugged, nodding a bit as Isaac returned, setting down a couple of earthen, lidded pots and a very large, three wick white candle. He took a seat across from Ria, placing the candle directly between the two of them. He opened the two pots and a most ungodly smell filled Ria's nostrils. She groaned, shoving her hand over her nose to plug it.

"What is this stuff?" she hissed from behind her hand.

"It's better if you don't know," Isaac grinned, pulling a lighter from his pants pocket and lighting the three wicks. "Okay, so you have a basic idea of what this is going to do. This is what I'm going to need from you: you need to close your eyes and relax, like you were going into a deep meditation. When I tell you, you are to pick up the coin and simply hold it. I'll begin chanting the spell's incantation and after a couple of times, you'll join in. After that, it'll be only you who knows if the spell is working. Try not to talk aloud to either Sara or myself. Got it?"

Ria nodded.

"Good," he said, shutting the room's door. By way of explanation, he looked over at Ria and said, "Any distraction will wake you. I'm trying to block out as much as possible. Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Good luck," Sara said, her lips pursed a little tighter than usual—which Ria guessed might be anticipation.

Because Ria had a lot of anticipation building in her. Her first real lead on a monster that, by all accounts, was the worst thing she could ever go up against. She took a deep breath, watching as Isaac tossed a pinch of each of the powdered substances that filled the two pots into the candle's flames.

"Pick up the coin and close your eyes," Isaac said softly.

Ria felt a chill climb down her spine for reasons she simply could not explain. She could only nod, doing exactly as Isaac had instructed her. As soon as her room had been blocked from her sight, she heard the chant begin. It was odd, but it did only take just a couple of tries for her to understand exactly what Isaac was chanting. Without really telling her body to do it, she began to chant it under her breath, over and over, until images began to form before her eyes.

Like Isaac had said, they were foggy, but only around the edges. It was sort of like looking at something through a frosted window. She could feel that she was anchored to one of the hooded people who were beginning to appear before her eyes. She looked down at where her hands should have been, to see someone else's instead, their wrists and arms clad by the wide sleeves of a rough, black robe that was hemmed in gold. She could also feel a hard collar encircling her neck, and it made her feel a little choked.

She pulled her attention back to her surroundings. One of the robed figures was breaking away from the circle, moving to stand before a stone alter that had been erected. The strong scent of pine and sap filled the air around her, and Ria was aware then that this little circle was meeting in some sort of wooded clearing.

"Brothers!" the hooded man in the center called out, "Osiris welcomes the faithful!"

Ria was glad that her reactions were not her own, because she wanted to gasp at the symbol around this man's neck. It was the backbone rendering, the same she had been seeing over and over again ever since Galamoth had entered her life. She was in one of the bodies of one of the Cult of Osiris's followers! She could barely contain her excitement, which made it a good thing that the body she was anchored to felt less than enthused about being in the middle of the woods past midnight.

"Praise be our dark lord, Galamoth!" the man in the center of the circle—the leader—said.

"Praise him," Ria felt herself say.

"We gather here tonight in solemn memory of the day that evil betrayed itself!"

"Betrayal," Ria and the group recited.

Several things were occurring to Ria as the leader of the cult continued to say similar things. She was in the past, that felt obvious to her for reasons she could not put her finger on, but it could not have been that far in the past. In fact, somewhere to her far right, she could hear another cult member's watch alarm beeping. The other members were pretending to ignore it. And the body she was in felt vaguely… familiar to her, which was perhaps the strangest feeling assailing her. After all, she was pretty sure that the body was that of a man and that she had not made a habit of body hopping in her early childhood.

"Dracula!" the group—and Ria—hissed.

Ria blinked, her eyes focused on the leader once more.

"Yes, the betrayer! He shall have his eternal damnation at the hand of our Lord Galamoth! Dracula, the monster who defeated him! Dracula, the monster who bound him! Dracula, who imprisoned him! Dracula, who ordered the anchoring of his prison!"

"Dracula, Dracula, Dracula," the cult hissed over and over, nearly doing so to the point of spitting.

Ria blinked. She knew that Dracula had had his followers, and as being one of the Belmont descendants who defeated him, she obviously knew he had his enemies. But this… this was surreal to her. This cult hated Dracula beyond the point of having words to express it. And why? Because Dracula had defeated and _imprisoned_ Galamoth, the first _good_ thing she had heard of the vampire king doing.

"Anchored in place!" the leader now called, ending the hate-filled chants of "Dracula" by the other members. His words were mournful, full of mock suffering. "Anchored by something beyond our reach! Anchored by—"

Somewhere to Ria's left, a cellphone began to ring. None of the other cult members noticed, but it continued to play its ringtone over and over. Suddenly, the foggy world around her became foggier, and her eyes flickered open. She locked eyes with Isaac for a moment, and he looked _livid_.

"Shit!" he swore.

It took Ria a few more minutes to realize that the cellphone she had heard inside the memory had actually been her own. And it took even more time for her to realize that it was still ringing.

"It's okay," Ria said, finally launching herself to her feet and digging the phone out of her purse at the foot of her bed. "We'll do it again."

"No, we can't. The stain of that memory is gone… replaced by your memory of this spell. You'd just relive what you just saw," Isaac hissed. "That call had better be important."

Ria glanced at the caller ID. She knew the number from its singular call before.

"Alucard," she said as she answered, and Isaac growled.

"I've arranged to meet with my… informant tomorrow night, in the graveyard nearest your manor. Could you meet me there by midnight?" the dhampire asked.

Ria grinned, if not a bit ruefully. "Of course. You know, you have really horrible timing."

"How so?"

Ria let out a short laugh and explained the spell to him, ending with, "I've learned that Galamoth was defeated by your dad and anchored in place by… something. That's sort of where I left off."

"You were participating in a memory transference spell?" he asked, and he did not sound happy.

Ria's eyes narrowed as she watched Isaac scoff, roll his eyes, and mutter, "Here we go."

"I guess. Why?" she asked.

"Do you know dangerous those are, Adriana? Spells that put one in someone else's memories have potentially dangerous consequences. You could have been trapped, catatonic, in that memory until the day you died. Or if the proper precautions were not taken, if the person had died in that memory, you could have died right along with them. Did _Isaac_ tell you that?"

Ria shook her head. Then she remembered she was on the phone.

"No. But…" and she paused, thinking over her next words carefully, trying to make sure that she meant them, "but I have full confidence in Isaac. I feel safe with his spells."

This caused the former devil forgemaster to gaze up, an odd look in his eye. Sara—still sitting in the same spot as when the spell had begun—grinned, shaking her head. On the other end of the phone, Alucard only sighed.

"That blood bond will not always be there to save you, Ria. Remember, midnight, the cemetery by the manor."

And with that, the other line disconnected. Ria turned just in time to see Isaac stand and leave the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ria muttered.

Sara shook her head, and when she spoke next, Ria was sure there was a bit of laughter in her voice, "Who knows?"

* * *

End Notes: How was that? Sorry for the long wait in updates. Although I do have this story completely outlined, I've had a lot of random crap fall on me—which I won't share since it's all one long sob story that I just really don't feel like reliving. So, I'm back without regular internet access, lots of deadlines due, job hunts, and other things. I'm, as always, continuously writing on my fanfiction, so I'll try my best to get the next chapter out soon—since I'm so looking for to writing it… can't wait to see what you all think of it. Well, as far as the storyline goes, got some exciting news, but, sadly, I can't share since it would be spoilers for the following two stories in this series. But just know that, with much thanks to Slinky, we've got some interesting times ahead! Also, I know that this chapter was similar to what happened last story when Sara shared her past with Ria. I promise, guys, this will be the last time I use this plot device, for sake of avoiding monotony. Seriously, cross my heart. Won't do it anymore. Please review!


	14. Finally

A/N- Thanks for all the great reviews on that last chapter! I'm still continually working on my writing career, and like I said in the last chapter's end notes, I had a whole slew of problems rain down on me practically all at once. Again, I'm not going into it. I choose to look at the bright side of things, and the bright side to it all seems to be a crapton more writing time. Maybe, with a little discipline, I can actually complete several projects, both of the fanfiction and original variety. Maybe. Well, on to this chapter, which I am so frickin' psyched to finally write! Hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 13- Finally

The day that followed Ria's call from Alucard seemed to just crawl by at the slowest pace possible. Even when she was called out of class with Keisha to decorate, it seemed like they were trapped in that gym for hours and hours… when it had only been two. Nightfall would not come fast enough, and the tenseness that permeated every nerve in Ria's body was threatening to shake her apart.

But as soon as Sophy cleared the dinner dishes away from the table, Isaac and Ria—and Sara—stood, making their excuses. They both claimed training, but the slightly raised brow Sophy gave her daughter made Ria suddenly feel like she was made out of cellophane—her thoughts open for all to see. Sophy only nodded, though, and the three of them were on their way to the very same cemetery they had been in the night when the sky burned.

"You've got the whip?" Sara asked anxiously. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Ria rolled her eyes, patting the coiled weapon that hung at her left side.

"Of course I do. How do you think you're here?"

Isaac chuckled, and Sara's expression turned sheepish. After a moment, the ghostly woman shook her head, crossing her arms low about her waist.

"Who do you think this informant is?" she asked.

Ria glanced back at Isaac, whose lowered eyes seemed to say the same thing Ria was thinking. For the first time since the call the night before, she voiced her thought aloud.

"God only knows."

After all, they were going to meet with the son of Dracula. Based on that alone, Ria was feeling fairly certain in her assumption that whoever—or whatever—this informant was… it was not going to be human.

A few more minutes of walking, and the cemetery, with its sloping lawns and aged tombs, came into view. Instinctively, Ria undid the Vampire Killer, gripping it tightly in her hand. Isaac picked up his pace, and Ria noticed that he had materialized his spear to hang on his back. Not a one of them felt comfortable with this meeting. Ria's stomach instantly began to roll.

They entered through the wrought iron gate, already opened ajar, and climbed the first hill. Ria came to a stop in the center of the graveyard, casting her eyes about the night-kissed place. When she finally spotted Alucard, she almost attacked him. It took her a moment before she realized it was him as he stood there, facing the boundary between Eternal Night and the cemetery. His white-blonde hair shone in even the crescent moon's faint light. And his skin seemed to be made of the smoothest porcelain. He was still dressed in the black suit that Ria had seen him in as the dark-haired Genya, but now his hair hung down even farther, nearly to his knees. It was pulled back and tied with a loose, heavy bow of silken, crimson fabric. He turned toward the new arrivals, his face as passive as ever. Ria's breath caught in her throat as his pale eyes fell onto her.

"It's almost time," he spoke, sounding no different. "I was beginning to fear that something had happened."

Isaac seemed to hiss under his breath, and it sounded like a tire losing air. Ria shook her head, giving the former forgemaster a strange look. In response, he only motioned, roughly, in front of himself. She shrugged, trudging on ahead.

As she neared Alucard, she began to catch some God-awful stench that was coming from a golden urn that was set down at his feet. Symbols, some of which Ria had never seen before, were carved into the dirt around the urn, and a small fire was crackling happily beyond it.

"You aren't disguised anymore," Ria said, latching the whip back to her side.

"I'd keep that out, Ria," Sara said, and Ria blinked at her.

"I can't risk being seen as Genya out performing what will probably look, to the untrained eye, like a satanic ritual. Besides, the entity that I am summoning appears easier when all glamours and disguises are dropped."

Entity. At that single word, Ria decided that Sara was probably right, and she pulled her whip back into her right hand. From behind her, she could hear Isaac sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me," he murmured.

Ria glanced at her two companions. If nobody was going to outright say it, she was going to ask.

"And what are we summoning, exactly?"

Without sparing her a glance, Alucard replied, "Death."

Instantly, all the color left Ria's face. Isaac rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because that's safer than my spell."

That earned him a scathing glance from Alucard, but Ria could not help but echo Isaac's sentiment. She remembered Death… remembered him all too well. Like every Belmont before her—according to the journals—she had fought him inside Castlevania. And, as she would never hesitate to admit, that fight was a lot scarier than the one against Dracula. After all, who wants to _willingly_ fight Death? And how many, just in a day to day standpoint, have ever won? Ria knew that the answer to that fell to only two words: the Belmonts.

"I don't like this," she said before she could stop herself.

"Don't fear, Adriana. I've taken precautions," Alucard said, casting his eyes skyward. "It's time."

Fear was a huge understatement to the way she was feeling, but the huntress planted her feet as she heard Isaac draw out his spear.

"This is so damn stupid," he muttered, and Ria let her whip uncoil to the ground.

Neither Ria nor Sara could think of a decent response to that. Alucard began to chant, lifting up the urn with the foul smelling, gray powder inside it. After every line of chant, he would toss a small handful into the flames, making the crimson and orange rise higher and higher. Finally, with one last toss, he sat the urn back on the ground, and withdrew a sword from someplace that Ria had not seen.

"Be ready," he said, his tone never wavering.

Ria's eyes grew wide. "I thought you said you took precautions?"

"I did. This is one of them."

"Oh hell," Ria said, pulling her arm back, ready to strike at any moment.

A large gust of wind picked up, blowing the flames backward, toward the trees, and Ria felt Isaac move closer to her. She glanced up at him, but his eyes were locked on the flames—reflecting them, even. Suddenly, as the winds began to die down, a loud, raspy cackling took their place. One final gust, and a cloaked, floating figure—only a skull and two bony hands visible—appeared. Ria found a small comfort in seeing that Death was not holding his scythe at the moment.

"Ah… Alucard. Why have you summoned me here?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You know why," the dhampire responded.

"Hmm," Death said, his focus moving away from Dracula's son to Ria. "Ah, well, if it isn't Miss Smith… How are you recovering, dear?"

Ria's knuckles turned white as she gripped the whip tighter. The fight with Dracula had been bad enough, but, when she had faced off against Death, she had nearly lost. Her wounds had only healed fully a couple of weeks earlier. Of course, Sophy knew nothing of that, since Ria had ordered Isaac not to say anything.

"I'm here, aren't I?" she snapped.

Death laughed. "That you are, that you are."

"Galamoth, Death. We've summoned you here because of him. You are one of the oldest entities that still inhabit our world. Surely you know of him," Alucard said.

"_The_ oldest, young master," he corrected. "I am _the_ oldest, save for maybe God Himself."

Ria could not help but think what an ego that he had to have to correct that statement, even if that fact made sense to her. She shook her head, tired of this little dance of discussions.

"Do you know him or not?" she snapped.

All eyes fell on her, and she began to wonder if that had been a good idea. But Death only chuckled low.

"Yes. I know of him."

"And you know that he's been released from his prison?" Isaac asked.

"Yes, Laforeze, I am aware. Is that why you have summoned me here? You wish for me to clean up this little mess?"

"As if you would," Ria scoffed.

"We want his history," Alucard clarified.

"Ah. Well, I must admit that I do not know much of him from before he was imprisoned. But I know the story of his incarceration."

Isaac, Ria, and Sara all exchanged a look. This was already promising to give them more than any other source had yet.

"Go on," Alucard said.

"Well, it was many, many years ago. Long before you were even born, Master Alucard. Galamoth was a force to be reckoned with, even then. And he had plans."

"We know," Ria cut in. "Unleash Hell on Earth and reign over it as its king. We know that much. I even know that Dracula was the one who imprisoned him. Get on with the how."

"What you do not know, Adriana Smith, is just how close he came to achieving that goal," Death hissed.

"How was he defeated, Death?" Alucard asked.

"Your father fought him to a standstill, but was unable to destroy him. But even Dracula knew that his evil was beyond any that this world could ever handle. He ordered myself, and one other faithful servant, to create a prison and anchor Galamoth within it with a key that would be so much more."

"Like what?" Isaac asked.

But Ria had a feeling she already knew. After all, it could be no coincidence that both had shown up to cause trouble at the same time.

"Dracula's Throne," she murmured.

"Exactly," Death said. "Dracula needed a way to cement his hold over Bernhard's castle, and he needed something so powerful that it would hold Galamoth within his prison—no easy feat, mind you. So, he had humans that I had gathered for him, using Galamoth's own talent of devil forging, fashion him a throne from one of Galamoth's very bones."

"The first devil forgers," Isaac muttered almost reverently. But something else had caught Ria's attention.

"Wait!" she said, throwing up a hand. "_One_ of his bones?"

"Yes… when Galamoth is in his truest form on this Earth, he stands higher than… well, a cathedral ceiling," Death answered, followed by a long cackle.

Ria failed to see the humor in that. She shook her head.

"Galamoth seeks to end any chance he has of being imprisoned once more. Since the Throne is his in its origin, all he has to do is lay hands on it, and the only item strong enough to hold him will be his once more."

"So… are you saying that it is all as simple as putting the Throne back where it was found?" Ria asked.

"Oh, my, no. Dracula's other servant must be there, to re-anchor it, and Galamoth must be in a weaker state for its hold to work. Not to mention that the Throne is as malevolent as the creature is was created from. It will destroy this world if it is not returned to its home… or to Galamoth. And if you were entertaining ideas of destroying the Throne, as if that would somehow help, it can't be done. Dracula made sure of that."

There was always a catch. Ria shook her head.

"In a weakened state… Like a freakin' Pokémon," she muttered as Isaac stepped forward.

"Where is this other servant?" he asked.

"Oh, he's… around."

"Enough," Alucard said, lifting his sword. "You've served your purpose here. Be gone."

Death shook his head, chuckling low. "Oh, I'll leave. But be warned… there are always consequences when you go looking for Death."

With one last, loud laugh, he raised his arms. The flames extinguished, and Death vanished. There was a single beat of silence. Then, several loud cracks that sounded like half-rotted wood erupted all around them. They whirled back in the direction of the graves as rotted hands, the flesh of each of them varying shades of ashen and green, broke through the ground, followed shortly by moaning and groaning as the rest of the body pulled itself up.

"Zombies," Alucard hissed.

Ria shook her head. She remembered the hoard of zombies that had guarded the entrance to Castlevania. Easily, they were the nastiest of all the creatures she had fought, but had not been too much trouble to do away with. Without another word, the dhampire charged into the crowd of the rotted things, the sound of his sword slicing through dead flesh filling the night air. Shaking her head, Ria ran straight down the middle of the monsters, lashing out with her whip and pulling off heads as easily as plucking a grape from the vine.

Sara was with her, watching her back as she destroyed zombie after zombie. Ria ducked, dodged, and lashed out so much that it was becoming second nature. At least fifteen zombies later—how many were buried in this cemetery?—Sara cried out for Ria to look.

Ria turned to see Isaac go down in the middle of a crowd of the walking dead.

"Isaac!"

She lost no time, kicking out at some of the dead in her way, and lashing out with her whip at others. She reached the former forgemaster in moments, taking down the zombies that had crowded around him in seconds. He was kneeling on the ground, one hand resting on a shoulder wound, and the other holding his spear to the ground.

"They didn't—" Ria began, only to have Isaac shake his head.

"No. They just figured out how to use blunt weaponry," he said, motioning to a plank of wood a few feet from him.

As Ria helped Isaac to his feet, she heard one last slice from Alucard's sword. All the zombies had been slain and burned away. Alucard flicked the gore from his weapon, sheathing it as he made his way over to them.

"Memory transference is dangerous?" Isaac yelled incredulously. "My spell was _dangerous_, and you went and summoned damn _Death_!"

"Isaac," Ria whispered, but Alucard only shook his head.

"We've gained the information we needed. And none of us are dead," the dhampire answered.

Ria could feel Isaac's anger rolling off of him. She shook her head.

"Look, we'll get to work on finding that other servant later. I've got to get him back and get him bandaged," she said.

Alucard looked more than a little unhappy about that statement, but he nodded nonetheless.

"I'll continue to search for this servant. I have a few people who still live in this town that have connections to this dark world. They might know him by name."

Alucard put his back to the huntress and the injured devil forger, making his way over to his ritual supplies and cleaning them up. Isaac groaned.

"Let's go home," Ria said, turning and exiting the graveyard.

…

It took half a bottle of peroxide and nearly all the gauze and bandages out of the family first aid kit to patch up Isaac. But, as Ria applied the last medical tape, she sighed.

"I could just heal it," he said.

"You can in the morning, after you've rested," Ria replied.

Belmont Manor was quiet tonight. Sophy had long since retired to bed, and Sara was nowhere to be seen from the moment they crossed the threshold. The night's events seemed to have given her much to think about, which was what Ria should have been doing. Instead, however, she merely resolved to get a song stuck in her head. She thought too much about monsters lately. Tonight, she just wanted to think about something mindlessly unimportant. This was not the case with Isaac.

"Damned dhampire," the crimson-haired man said, lightly picking at the bandages.

Ria smacked his hand away. Isaac rolled his eyes, leaning back on his bed—the first time Ria had been in Isaac's room, ever. It was a rather plain place, no decoration to be seen at all. Even the sheets were a plain white. Nothing at all, save for a couple of pairs of black clothing in the corner, seemed to suggest that he lived there at all. That made Ria, who took great pride in making her space her own, very sad.

"He didn't know that zombies were going to rise, I'm sure," Ria said.

Isaac looked like Ria had just slapped him. "You're _defending_ him? He could have gotten you… He could have gotten us killed."

Ria shook her head. She was just so sick of those two at each other's throat with her stuck in the middle, just trying to get things done. She rolled her eyes.

"Just, lay off, okay?"

Isaac's eyes widened as he stood. "Are you… are you in love with him, Ria?"

"What?"

Isaac's voice was light, incredulous, as he repeated the question. Ria shook her head.

"Where is that even coming from? I've only ever talked to him a handful of times, Isaac. Why the hell would you even ask me that?"

"Do you?"

She scoffed. "Why does it even matt—"

But Ria didn't get to finish her sentence. Isaac's hand shot out, cupping her face and pulling her toward him. In the next instance, his lips were pressed hard against hers, parting them. His other hand slipped around and pressed lightly into the small of her back, holding her against him. Her eyes were wide with surprise the entire time.

When her mind finally woke up again, she placed her hands on his uninjured shoulder and pushed him away. They stood there, only inches apart, for a long moment, unspeaking. And he looked just as surprised as she felt. Finally, he looked away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I mean—"

He stopped, looking back at her, willing her to speak. But Ria could not find her voice. Several things flew through her mind, but she could not pin down a single, coherent thought. Isaac shook his head.

"It's not," he began, pausing to wet his lips, "it's not the blood bond. I… I lo—"

But Ria could not hear that. Shock controlling all her movement, she backed out of the room, an apologetic look being the only response she could make. In the next moment, she was in her own room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

End Notes: And ta-da! There it is, folks, the moment all you Ria and Isaac fans have been waiting for. And, frankly, I've been waiting for it myself. I can't wait to hear from you all. Until next time! Please review!

Fun Fact: Okay, so I've been thinking about this since I started this series, but I personally think that the song that best fits Isaac and Ria's relationship is "What Have You Done Now [US Edit]?" by Within Temptation. The lyrics might not fit to an absolute T, but the sentiment of the song definitely does. Give it a listen sometime.


	15. A Not So Quiet Dinner

A/N- Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter! Sorry for teasing you with the quick update on it, and the wait for this one. I'm currently dividing my time between two of fics that I really do feel I can finish by the end of this summer or fall. Probably sometime in the fall, given that it's July now. That would be this one, and one of my Batman: the Animated Series/Buffy: the Vampire Slayer fics called "The Funny Thing About Keys." Anyway, hope this chapter proves to be a bit of fun! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14- A Not So Quiet Dinner

Ria knew what lucid dreaming was—the ability to control your dreams while you are dreaming them. She was not quite sure when she had learned it, but she knew it. But she had never quite gotten the hang of the dreams that were half-lucid, half not. And those were in abundance ever since her little vampire hunting legacy had been revealed to her.

And now, she was sure, in the most logical part of her brain, that she was actually comfortably lying in her bed, fast asleep. But while her body was busy getting in as much REM time as possible, she was back in the world of the Cult of Osiris and in the body of the cult member whose memories she had connected with. She could hear the rustling of many robes as all the cult members moved about the darkened, unclear space, preparing for some unknown event. Ria was trying her best to control the movement of the body her dream-self had inhabited, but it was not working, much like the memory. The members were all circling a stone alter now, kneeling and bringing their hands together as if praying. Ria looked down—and she honestly was not sure if she was looking in this direction or if her unwitting host was. It was the smallest detail, but she saw it. A tattoo, small and encircling the thumb of her cult member. It appeared to be a very tiny circlet of thorns.

"Praise to our Lord Galamoth!" cried a voice from somewhere in the shadows.

Ria awoke with a start, using her hands to hold herself up. Her breath, despite the rather slow nature of the dream, was still labored and a cold sweat was just beginning to bead on her brow. Was dreaming about the memories one of the "dangers" that Alucard had meant about the memory spell? She placed a hand over her heart, willing her breath to slow. It was just a dream, after all. In fact, she thought in a desperate moment, maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe Isaac had not kissed her the night before, and maybe she had not bolted from the room like a frightened kitten.

But there were things about the previous night that were too fresh, too real, in her mind. She could remember the softness of his lips on hers, the gentle way he pressed her to him. No. It was most definitely not a dream. No matter how much she wished it.

She had not handled it well. Surely her running off to her room had not sat well with Isaac. But Ria could not really be sure about that. He never came after her. But that was for the better. She was not sure what might have happened if he had.

She threw the covers off her body, eyeing her un-rung alarm clock. She still had a good thirty minutes before she had wake up for school. But sleep was out of the question now. Instead, she cast a glance over at the Vampire Killer, hanging unceremoniously from her purse—which was hanging from her closet door handle. She spent what was probably a full three minutes just willing her ghost friend to appear. She had not seen Sara since they had left the cemetery. And she was not seeing her now. With a heavy sigh, she grabbed a fresh change of clothes and made her way through the too-quiet manor to the bathroom.

She made her shower quick and decided to only half dry her hair, gelling the rest into deliberately messy waves. She applied her make-up, sighing at the simple, neutral tones—like everything was their fault. Glancing at the small clock her mother had plugged up—in efforts to get Ria to shorten her showers—she shook her head. Ria had only wasted twenty of her spare thirty minutes. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself.

She had to face Isaac. And they had to discuss what had happened. For all Ria knew, he was just as confused by his feelings as she was. Pursing her lips, she threw open the door to the bathroom, took a short detour to her bedroom to grab her purse and backpack, and then made her way down the stairs.

Ria was busy taking a big gulp, ready to have what was probably going to rank high in the list of the most unusual conversations she was ever going to have in her life, when she stopped. Blinking from the doorway of the kitchen, she glanced around. Only Sophy sat at the small kitchen table, sipping a hot cup of coffee and idly flipping through the newspaper. Ria entered, dropping her bags as she slipped into the chair across from her.

"Mom? Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked.

"Oh, no, I've been given the day off. I've clocked so much overtime trying to keep that throne in our museum, that I think they felt sorry for me. And, of course, I clocked a _lot_ of overtime," Sophy chuckled, putting down her paper.

"Oh. Well, you deserve it. Um… have you seen Isaac this morning?"

Sophy arched a brow at her daughter. "Yeah, but it was the weirdest thing. He ran out of here like the hounds of Hell were on him. Barely got out a 'hello' before he was out the door. Is something wrong, Ria? And, hey, aren't you up early? Are you okay?"

Intuitive mothers… always intuitive when you least needed them to be. After all, what would Sophy do if she knew that Isaac had kissed her daughter? Her—in comparison to Isaac—severely underage daughter? Ria grinned, shaking her head.

"Just had a long night, and then I couldn't sleep. And I'm sure the thing with Isaac is nothing," she said, standing and putting her backpack over one shoulder. "I'm gonna head off early. Have a nice day off."

She gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and was out the door in a flash before Sophy had a chance to voice what it was that Ria was sure she was thinking: "I'm not buying it." Ria was in her car and on the road in moments, and she had premium choice of parking spots as few students actually made efforts to get there early. She parked in the spots closest to the gym's exit—where she knew Keisha and she would be at the end of the day—and even stood in the spot next to hers to keep it open for her friend. Sure, it pissed a lot of other driving students off, but Ria was not in the mood to care.

It was another twenty minutes before Keisha pulled up with a distinctly confused expression on her face. Ria hopped out of the way for her car and moved to stand on the sidewalk.

"I promise, my dad's a good cook… but he's nothing to get to school early for," Keisha said.

Ria blinked, eyes wide. Today was Friday. The week had utterly flown by on a whirlwind of crazy! Keisha stopped, her perfectly manicured hands poised on her hips.

"You forgot?" she said, incredulously.

Ria shook her head, digging her phone out of her purse.

"It's okay. It's okay. I'll just text Mom and let her know that I'm going to your house for dinner. I'm sorry, Keisha, really. It's been the week from Hell."

Keisha eyed her friend for a moment. Finally, she smiled, swinging an arm around her.

"I believe you. Now, let's drone our way through today—because, hey, it's Friday—and then decorate, and then get the hell out of here!"

"Best plan ever."

…

"Droning" their way through the day turned out not to be an option. Four out of the seven classes Ria had had presented them with pop quizzes, one of them being Mr. Hamm's, of course. The other three had so many notes being given that Ria was sure that her right arm had not been that tired since she had began her vampire hunter training. But, finally, Keisha, Ria, and all the other members of the party committee won their freedom. In their hurry to reach the half-decorated gym, they almost forgot the decorations, but once they had doubled back, the group reached the heavy doors with bright smiles on their faces.

Only to have them wiped right off.

Standing directly in the middle of the gym, a hunter green-suited, portly Mr. Hamm grinned at them, his hands clasped behind his back. One of the freshmen dropped their box of decorations in shock. Finally, it was Keisha who had the courage to step forward.

"Um, where's Mrs. Havish?" she asked.

"Unfortunate family emergency," he said, extending each word out much further than they needed to be.

"But she'll be back tomorrow?" Ria asked.

"Afraid not, Miss Smith. Her mother's taken ill, and it's not looking good. She'll need this extra time to help with her."

He looked way too happy to be saying those words. Ria glared at him, more sure than ever that there had to be something evil about this man. But nobody in the gym said anything more. Instead, the most silent the committee had been throughout the entire process, each took to their own task. Only Keisha moved between them all, supervising and commenting on the decoration. Well, Keisha… and Mr. Hamm. He particularly liked to hover, sneering, over Ria as she taught a couple of freshman how to properly bunch the crepe paper to Keisha's specifications.

"You really shouldn't be missing all this time in my class," Hamm said as the freshman finally caught the hang of it, moving on to finish hanging all rest of the black paper.

Ria narrowed her eyes. "Why, am I failing?"

"Oh, no, no. But you do seem to lack a certain… _respect_ for the field of history."

She did not need this. Pursing her lips together, she forced a tight smile onto her lips.

"I assure you, sir, that that's not the case. My mother works for the museum, after all."

"Hmm, well… I would think you would act with a better sense of dignity in my class then, instead of letting your head swim off to all manner of imaginable places."

He walked off too quickly following that remark. Grimacing, Ria muttered hatefully under her breath. She had no idea what she had done to earn Hamm's supreme dislike of her. Sure she got caught reading demon encyclopedias every so often… but who didn't? With a hollow laugh, she shook her head and pulled the plastic skeletons out of her decoration box. Maybe, she thought, she would pay a bit more attention in his class if he was not so damn uppity about extracurricular reading.

It all seemed to be moving much faster than usual, and before anyone knew it, Keisha was calling them all together in the middle of the gym. With a satisfied smile on her lips, she gestured to their now fully-decorated surroundings.

"Great job, everyone! Now, the only thing we have left to do is decide the food we'll be having. It'll be mostly sweet food, but the school is demanding that we come up with at least four savory appetizers as well."

There were a few groans amongst the students as Ria looked around. All their eyes seemed to be glued, worriedly, to Hamm. Apparently Ria was not the only student he had decided to torment. Keisha shook her head.

"Don't worry. I know it's getting late, so I figured we could just write down some ideas and go over them Monday. It'll be our last meeting time here in the gym, same time as always. That sound all right?"

Cheers erupted in the gym as the students began to scatter. The final bell of school had rung only moments earlier, meaning that this was the earliest any of them had left the gym since the decorating had begun.

"We'll be doing any necessary touch-ups too!" Keisha called to several retreating backs.

Ria stepped up beside her friend, throwing an arm about her shoulders. Mr. Hamm's mouth was pulled down into a deep frown as he too took his exit from the building. Ria laughed.

"I think you simultaneously made everyone's day and ruined Hamm's. Apparently, he was looking forward to torturing us a bit more for choosing an activity that pulled us out of class," she said.

Keisha smiled. "Yeah, I caught that. But to be honest, I wish I had known he was going to be such a good motivator. Look at this place! It looks _amazing_!"

And it did. It was so well decorated that anyone who had never seen its inside before could hardly point it out as a gym. The basketball nets were dressed with crepe paper and cobwebs with hanged dummies suspended from short nooses. Witches on broomsticks hung from the ceiling, and the floor was covered with a black plastic mat that reached the expanse of the room. Mummies and vampires decorated every wall and glass surface.

"Let's not say that out loud in front of any other students, shall we?" Ria said.

"Deal," Keisha said.

The two picked up their purses and backpacks, agreeing at their separate cars that Ria would follow Keisha to her home so that they did not have to make any evening trips back to the school to pick up Ria's car.

Keisha pulled out first, with Ria following closely behind. The two were on the road and headed in the opposite direction of Belmont Manor in moments. Which led to Ria heaving a great sigh of relief.

Running away from problems was no way to deal with them, she knew that. It was something her father had always instilled in her, something that had taken Sophy surviving a harrowing kidnapping to learn, and something that Ria had realized early on into her vampire hunting to be absolutely true. If you ignore a problem, it does not just go away. But "problem" was a bit strong, for Ria's tastes, to describe whatever it was going on between Isaac and herself. Her stomach churned worriedly at the thought of him. It was just not normal to go a whole day without seeing the former forgemaster anymore. In fact, Ria found herself quickly forgetting the times in Belmont Manor before she had met him.

Now things might be irreparably different between the two of them. And Ria was not yet sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The terribly familiar setting whizzing by the outside of the Rio jerked Ria's mind back into the present. The two of them—Keisha's car still less than a car length in front of hers—were getting a little too close for comfort to Eternal Night. Ria could feel her entire body stiffening, and she found herself glaring at her purse, or rather at the whip within. Sara had been curiously quiet the entire day, and now Ria would give anything to have the ghost woman sitting beside her.

But Sara did not appear, and Keisha turned on a little dirt road a good forty feet before the tree line.

Ria sighed as the two cars winded and turned up the dirty road, eventually pulling into the driveway of a two-level, ranch-style home with white vinyl siding and shuttered windows. Ria parked directly behind Keisha, noting the large black pick-up truck that was already in the driveway. She stepped out, grabbing her purse almost as an afterthought.

"Welcome to my house," Keisha said, leading her friend up the walkway and through the front door.

The home opened up to a cozy living room with plush beige carpet and fluffy white furniture surrounding a flat-screen, black television set. The smells of dinner leaking out of an unseen kitchen met Ria's nose, and she smiled.

"It's lovely," she said.

Keisha shrugged and ushered her through another doorway into a small dining room with a long table—rounded at the ends—that could seat only four.

"It's no manor, but it's home," Keisha said modestly. Turning to look through another doorway, she shouted, "Dad! We're here!"

"Just in time," Sergeant Stone said as he exited from the very doorway his daughter had shouted toward.

He was a well built man, the life of a soldier sculpting him into a muscled foe that most would think twice before messing with. His head and face held no hair, and his skin was the same smooth color as his daughters. He was dressed in simple jeans and a red knitted sweater. He sat the platter of roasted chicken—surrounded by the promised roasted potatoes, carrots, and pearl onions that Keisha had mentioned the other day—into the center of the dining table.

"Sergeant Benjamin Stone, this is Adriana Smith," Keisha said, swinging an introductory hand between the two.

"Hello, Sergeant Stone," Ria said, stepping forward to put out her hand.

He shook it, saying, "Ben, please, Adriana. Call me Ben."

She smiled. "It's just Ria."

"I've heard a lot about you, Ria. Keisha says that you've done a great job with your helping your mom out after your dad's death."

"Dad!" Keisha said, slipping into a seat near the head of the table.

Ria chose a seat across from her. "It's all right. Thank you, sir."

Ben laughed, shaking his head as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Keisha sighed.

"Sorry about that. He always brings up stuff like that."

"It's no problem, really."

Keisha stood and made her way into the kitchen. Once she was out of sight, Ria heard her call, "Hey, so we have regular soda, grape soda, water, and… apple juice. What would you like to drink?"

Ria giggled. "Grape soda, please."

Keisha returned to her seat at the table with two cans of grape soda and a singular can of regular soda. She set the regular soda at the head of the table and slid one of the grapes over to Ria. Ben followed shortly after with a bowl of green beans and a stack of three plates. Once Ria could see the top plate, she also saw a pile of silverware there. Ben passed each of them a plate and fork before taking his seat.

"Do you say grace at your house, Ria?"

Ria nodded. "Occasionally."

The three of them bowed their heads. It was just as short as the grace given at Belmont Manor the night Darren had come to eat, with all three heads popping back up the moment "amen" was uttered.

Conversation did not start immediately. Instead, only the clattering of silverware and plates filled the silence as the three of them took shares of all the food on the table. After each person was several bites into their dinner, Ben finally turned to Ria.

"Well, I can't believe that I'm finally getting to meet you. My Keisha mentions you all the time," he said, pausing in his eating.

Keisha looked on the verge of kicking her dad, like Ria was some sort of attractive boy that she been crushing on forever. Ria grinned.

"I hope it's only been good things," she said.

"Oh, yes. She also mentioned that your mother is dating Darren. How is he?"

"Oh, yeah, he mentioned that you two know one another. He's fine, I guess."

Ria cast her eyes to her plate, that same nudging that she always felt in the pit of her stomach rising once again at the mention of Darren. Ben laughed.

"Yeah, I guess it must be strange to have another man dating your mother. I hope he's being a gentleman."

Ria grinned as Keisha, discreetly, rolled her eyes. She raised her head to look Ben in the eye and shrugged.

"I'm getting used to it. Besides, if he was being anything other than a gentleman, I think he'd have a whole lot of me to deal with."

Ben laughed a loud, guffawing laugh. Smiling and nodding his head, he looked at Ria.

"You're all right."

Keisha laughed and shoved a bit of potato into her mouth. The second after she had swallowed it, she said, "The Stone Stamp of Approval. Welcome to the family, Ria."

The silence fell again, but it was not quite as tense as it had been before. There was a comfortable feeling to it now, and Ria found herself the most relaxed she had been in a very long time. It was nice not to worry for a moment, not about the world, about monsters, or about anything. Just to sit and enjoy a family's company. It was peaceful.

… And it was broken a second later by the sound of shattering glass.

The crashing of glass was followed a moment later by angry shouting, and Ria was on her feet. Her hand had flown to her purse and withdrawn the Vampire Killer without a conscious thought. She allowed herself a quick glance to the side and saw the ghostly figure of Sara standing there, her lips parted in surprise.

"It's Galamoth's worshippers!" the woman said, glancing worriedly over at Ben—who was also standing—and Keisha, who seemed rooted to her seat with surprise.

"What the hell is this?" Ben shouted as four robed figures ran into the room, all armed with daggers.

"Can't have a moment's peace, can I?" Ria shouted, lashing out with the whip and catching one cult member's arm.

She yanked him over to her, planting her shoe in his face. He fell back, dropping his dagger as he did so. Ria spared a look over to Ben, who seemed busy holding his own against another cult member.

"What's going on?" Keisha shrieked.

"Get down, Keisha! I've got this," Ria ordered as another one rushed her.

She lashed the whip at him, but only caught the side of his arm. His hood somehow managed to stay up, but she heard him hiss in pain. He turned toward her.

"Vampire hunter," he growled, lunging at her once more.

Ria kicked out, catching his chest and knocking the wind out of him. Meanwhile, the cult member that Ben had been dealing with was lying, unconscious, at his feet while another one was trying his luck. Ria flipped her hand around, ramming the handle of her whip into the winded cult member's forehead. With a cross-eyed glance, he fell to unconsciousness as well. The remaining two cult members backed off, eyeing each other worriedly. Finally, one sneered.

"This isn't over, Belmont. You're days are numbered, and we'll be back."

"And I'll be waiting," Ria said as the two grabbed their fallen friends and bolted out of the house.

Silence blanketed the house for a moment after the crunching of retreating footsteps disappeared. Finally, Keisha moved her way around the dining table, passing—unknowingly—through Sara.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded. "How did they know you, Ria? And how did you know… know how to do _that_?"

She gestured to her surroundings before stopping to stare down her friend. Ria sighed. Her night of normalcy was over, screeching to a brick-wall slamming stop. She glanced over at Keisha's father, who seemed to be waiting for Ria's answer as much as his daughter was.

"I'm a vampire hunter," she said finally, defeated.

"What?" Keisha demanded.

"I'm a vampire hunter. I hunt vampires and other monsters, most the time on a nightly basis. These guys that just attacked us? They're working for the newest bad guy that's out for me."

That seemed a bit too much for Ben. His eyes wide, he simply backed out of the room. But Keisha was showing no signs of backing down.

"That's crazy!" she shouted.

Ria shook her head. "It's true. I'm sorry. I would have told you, but I was afraid that you'd think I was, well… crazy. But you just saw some of what I have to deal with."

"What do they want from you?"

Ria shrugged. "Death, as far as I can tell."

Keisha blinked, apparently taken aback by the bluntness of Ria's statement. She would have tried to soften it for her friend, but the fact of the matter was, after a bunch of cult members break into your home, there's not much more softening to be had.

"I don't understand… How?" Keisha asked, the volume of her voice finally reducing itself to normal tones.

"It's a long story. Vampire hunting runs in my family."

Keisha blinked. "Your mom…?"

Ria laughed. "No. Mom's not a vampire hunter. But Isaac is, sort of. And they both know about it."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Since I moved here, at the beginning of last summer."

Keisha paused, everything about her seeming to say she was lost in deep thoughts. Finally, she took a small step backwards.

"I think you ought to leave, Ria."

Ria's eyes widened. "What?"

"Please, Ria. Just go."

Ria felt her chin quiver, but she got it under control. Grabbing her purse—and noticing that Sara was once again out of her sight—she simply turned and exited the house.

It was a quiet drive back to Belmont Manor, with the sun having not set too long ago. She pulled into the driveway, not bothering to grab anything but her purse once again as she made her way indoors.

She had hoped to see Isaac. She could not have hidden that feeling from herself as much as she might have tried. But she had also hopped to see Sara suddenly appear before her to discuss the night's events, like the three of them often did after something supernatural had happened. Instead, only the sounds of the television filled Ria's ears as she made her way into the living room.

Sophy was seated on the couch, dressed in a pair of comfortable pale pink sweats and a matching sweater. She glanced up at her daughter as Ria plopped down at the other end.

"Are you all right?" Sophy asked, brow arched.

"I'm fine," Ria replied, knowing how hollow it had sounded… even to her.

"Are you sure? I mean, you look… Well, I don't know how you look."

"Really, Mom. I'm okay."

Sophy nodded, turning her attention—reluctantly, it seemed—back to the television. After a moment of silence, she turned back to her daughter.

"I got your text. How was dinner?"

Ria lightly bit her bottom lip, nodding. "It was… fine."

"And school? How's the dance coming along?"

"It's—"

She could not do it anymore. Something inside Ria broke, and it all came out in a flood of tears. Two heavy steams fell from her eyes as a sob broke free. Sophy, wide-eyed and shocked, turned to her.

"Ria! Ria, honey, what's wrong?"

Ria rested her head on her mother's shoulder and let it all just fall out.

"Everything! Mom, that Throne at the museum is Dracula's Throne, and it's what is causing everyone to get sick! And this huge demon named Galamoth that nobody seems to know anything about is after it so he can control Hell on Earth. And the representative from the Japanese government is really Alucard, Dracula's son in disguise, trying to find a way to set everything right. Like, the _real_ Alucard, not Dracula trying to trick me again! And I went to see Uncle Jason without telling you because I wasn't sure how you would feel, and I was going to tell you but I just never got around to it. He knows about the family legacy, and that I'm the one who destroyed Dracula this summer. Tonight, the cult members that worship Galamoth broke into Keisha's house. Her dad and I fought them off, but Keisha was so shocked to hear about me being a vampire hunter that she asked me to leave. And Isaac kissed me last night and told me that he loved me, and I just don't know what to do!"

She was full-out sobbing, hiccups and all, by the time she reached the end of her confession. Ria was aware, immediately after finishing, that this had not been the best way to reveal everything to her mother. She could not bring herself to lift her head and look Sophy in the eye. She knew that her mother had to be angry, disappointed… something that she could not deal with right now. Finally, when neither had spoken again for a time, Ria dared to lift her eye. Sophy was only sitting there, eyes a little wide, with her arms wrapped around her child.

"I'm sorry," Ria whimpered again. "I know we promised to tell each other everything… but it all just got away from me."

Sophy did not respond immediately. Finally, she only sighed and gave Ria a tight hug. Smiling, she gently pushed Ria back so the two could see one another.

"It'll be all right. I'll help you through this. Now… start at the beginning and slower. What about the Throne and Mr. Arikado?"

* * *

End Notes: And Sophy is officially caught up in the crazy life of her daughter. Sorry for the lack of Isaac in this chapter. He's still around, but he's just dealing with some stuff… as is Ria, as you can see. How will this fallout of Ria's affect everything? Find out next chapter!

Fun Note: I mentioned last chapter that I thought, as a couple, Ria and Isaac's song was "What Have You Done Now? [US Version]." I found this new song—well, new to me—that I think is kind of funny, got a great beat, and is the _perfect_ song for Isaac. Isaac's song is "Manboy" by Eric Saade. Give it a listen some time.


	16. Unreachable

A/N- Thanks for the great reviews on that last one! I've reached 100 on this fic, and I couldn't be happier! Keep 'em coming, and I'll keep replying! And updating, of course. I'm still busy, busy outside the world of fanfiction, and I actually have a poll based on a future non-fanfic project up on my profile. I'd really appreciate the votes! And don't worry, it's not a binding contract or anything. Oh, also, I've done a couple of fan banners for this series—one for Untested and one for Trials—that I haven't posted here, well, because doesn't allow image hosting like another fanfic site I upload to does… but that one does I only post my Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossovers. But you can still see the banners on a composite I made and put up on deviantart. The link's on my profile, in my Updates section. Drop by and leave me a comment, if you please! Now, on to the chapter!

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Chapter 15- Unreachable

It was Saturday and quickly approaching the middle of the fall season in a mountainous region. But Ria was dressed in a short pair of black running shorts with a simple black tank top, perspiring heavily. Her breath was coming in even, heavy puffs as she broke through the barrier of trees of Eternal Night at her top running speed.

Sara had been watching a lot of television lately, and in doing so, discovered a little sport called "free running." Basically, as far as Ria could tell, it was running without a destination in mind, doing the most impressive, most difficult tricks off of buildings and smaller structures as you could. Sara thought this sport, as a method of vampire hunter training, was ingenious, and the ghostly woman had been standing over her trainee as soon as she had awakened that morning. She had given Ria enough time to eat a light but substantial breakfast of cereal, orange juice, and toast and time to stretch before ordering the girl out into the cold. Her argument: they had been lax in her training lately. And, unfortunately for Ria, she could not argue.

So Sara, there only in voice as Ria also had the Vampire Killer buckled at her side, had ordered her about the empty school campus, telling her to ricochet herself off of the side of various buildings and swing herself around on various playground equipment. Finally, she ordered Ria back out toward the graveyard by the forest, telling her to run along the small brick wall that ran along the hilly boundary—making her feel a little too much like a scene out of an anime. After a while, Ria had figured out that Sara was going to order her to do the most difficult things imaginable, and, drenched in sweat, had just started to predict the moves.

Now, inside Eternal Night, she could hear the whip-bound woman give an approving laugh.

"You're doing very well," she praised. "Keep it up."

Ria sucked in another breath to ease the growing fire on her lungs. She only nodded in response as she threw herself into the air, running a step or two off a couple of trees before landing in a hard crouch on the ground. She was moving again in the next instant.

"Have you given any thought as to how those cult members tracked you to Keisha's house?" Sara asked. Without giving any pause, she added, "And what in the world is going on between you and Isaac? I haven't seen him since Thursday night."

Ria shook her head. She wondered if the fact that her trainer seemed to miss nothing was because she was dead, or if that had been a trait she had had in life.

"Well, I doubt a cult that tosses a carved rock through a window has the good sense to use a GPS tracking system, so I have no idea if they were just following me or stumbled upon me. But I can only guess they were after the obvious: me, dead. Or maybe I'm close to stopping them… though I can't imagine _how_. For all we've learned about Galamoth, it's still not enough."

It was hard to talk and free run at the same time, and she hoped that that alone would satisfy Sara. But the ghost was not so easily fooled, something that Ria should have caught onto by now.

"You dodged my question about Isaac."

Ria skidded to a halt, leaning against the nearest tree and sucking in air like her lungs had never tasted of oxygen before. Her heart ached along with them, but it had nothing to do with her free running. She would have never thought that an absent Isaac was something that would affect her so much. But things were surprising her at every turn, and whenever she thought about his absence in the manor, it just made her… well, she was not entirely sure how it made her, except that she did not like the feeling.

"You know what happened, right?" Ria asked, her eyes downcast.

Sara had appeared beside her now, hands clasped and held at her waist.

"He kissed you. I know."

"He told me that he loved me. That it wasn't the bond."

There was a beat of silence. Finally, Sara shrugged.

"Do you return his feelings?"

"I don't know!" she said, pushing off the tree and kicking a rock at her toe. "I don't know how I feel. My head feels all… swirly when I try to think about it."

The ghost lifted a translucent black brow. "Swirly? What do you mean?"

"Thoughts… thoughts that I just can't seem to shake. Like, for one, he's way older than I am. Yeah, he only looks about 26… but he died a long, _long_ time ago which officially makes him older."

"Is that really the only confusing thing?"

"I just keep thinking about the blood bond. That stupid, freakin' blood bond!"

"You know that's not what's causing his feelings for you."

"Yeah. I do. But I can't help but think… what if it had never happened? What if he had just helped me through Castlevania without the aid of the bond? Would he still feel the same?"

Sara pursed her lips. Finally, she shook her head.

"You can only talk to him. And the longer you put that off, the longer you'll feel that ache you're feeling."

Ria looked up, a question in her eyes. But Sara only smiled and vanished from her sight.

She was right, of course. Talking to Isaac about all the self-dubbed "swirly" was the only way to ease her mind. But that was all keeping in mind that the former forgemaster had un-Houdini-ed himself while she had been gone. With a resolved breath, she turned around and retraced a slower track back toward Belmont Manor.

It took her several more minutes to get back, and the sun was gaining brightness as she trudged up the steps and through the front door. She stood just beyond the threshold, just far enough inside to shut the door behind her. She made a quick search of the bottom floor, finding only her mother seated at the smaller kitchen table. She slid into a chair across from Sophy—who was still finishing her own bowl of cereal and having yet to change out of her white cotton night gown.

"You left early," her mother said as she pushed aside her finished cereal.

"Yeah, Sara had a new training regiment to try on me. Mom… have you seen Isaac?"

She smiled sadly. "No, honey. Afraid not. I didn't even hear him come in last night. I'm a little worried about him."

Ria frowned and felt close to tears. It was her fault that Isaac could not bear to be in the manor. Sophy shook her head, quickly changing the subject.

"What do we intend to do about Dracula's Throne? And you said that Mr. Arikado is really… Dracula's son, right?"

Sophy had been undeniably cool about the overload of information her daughter had placed upon her the previous night. If she had been angry or hurt that Ria had not come to her immediately about all of it, she had not shown it. As for Isaac kissing her daughter… she—a bit begrudgingly, Ria thought—had made the decision to let Ria handle it. Sophy had even gone as far as pointing out that, at her only a year older, she had run away from home and met Jared only a year after that. And Jared had been twenty-one to her eighteen at the time. So she felt a bit hypocritical, no matter how uneasy she was about the vast age difference. A few years difference, Ria had pointed out, was not as bad as what she was dealing with and had informed her mother that she would not blame her. But Sophy held strong to her conviction.

"Alucard," Ria answered, nodding. "That's his real name."

"You know… I remember my father mentioning him, as a part of our family's history. Actually, his name is Adrian. Now that's sort of a family name, and how I named you, actually."

Ria blinked, unsure what to do with this little bit of information. In the end, she decided that it was not important enough to think on at the moment.

"We have to get the Throne back to Castlevania's ruins," Ria explained. "Otherwise, it's just going to get worse and worse. It might get to destroy the world before Galamoth does."

"That's going to be quite a feat."

Ria shrugged. "I know, but I think we've got time to figure it out. I still have to find the person who can bind it… which, by the way, is the same servant who did it in the first place."

"What's his name?"

Ria rolled her eyes, a sardonic grin on her face. "Hell if I know, Mom."

Sophy could not help but laugh. When she stopped, she shook her still messed bed-head.

"And what about this Alucard? How should I go about letting him know that I, well, know?"

"Let me handle that one. I'll give him a call here in second to soften the blow."

"Give him a call? He has a phone?"

"Yeah, a cell."

Sophy shook her head again. "I don't know why that surprises me, since I've seen Arikado leave to make calls. But it does."

"I felt the same way when I heard Isa—" but Ria let her sentence hang, and Sophy was kind enough to switch the subject once more.

"Well, we'll deal with things as they come. Now, about your Uncle Jason… Adriana Sophia Smith, I cannot _fathom_ why in the world you would think that you had to hide the fact that you wanted to meet your uncle from me. I thought we had worked through all that?"

Ria shrugged.

"To be honest… I think I just didn't want to bring up any bad memories for you."

Sophy fell silent for a moment, drinking this information in. Then, with a decisive head nod, she said, "Well, it's high time things like that are over and done with."

Ria grinned. "I agree. I was thinking maybe having him over for dinner?"

"That's a great idea. We can do it tomorrow, if he's free. I'll invite Darren, and it'll be like a big family thing."

Ria's stomach rolled, inexplicably, at the thought of Darren being included in a "family" dinner. But she held her grin tight in place. That was, until, Sophy gave her her best "serious" face.

"I would hope that that would include Isaac as well."

Ria pushed back from the table, shrugging. "I'll talk to him. As soon as I find him. But right now, I'm going to make some calls to Uncle Jason and Alucard."

She turned, making it as far as the threshold of the room before Sophy lightly cleared her throat.

"Ria… why don't you try to get a hold of Isaac while you're doing that?"

Ria nodded, moving to take another step out of the room.

"And Ria?"

She turned.

"If you don't get Alucard right now… could you keep trying so he can know that I know before Monday? I'd hate to get caught in another long, needless, meeting."

Ria laughed and nodded as she left, mounted the stairs, and entered her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and made a beeline for her purse, finding her cell easily. Flipping it open, she paused, her thumb hovering over the keypad. Fear told her to try either Jason or Alucard first… but then Sara appeared beside her, ever the voice of reason.

"Just call Isaac. You don't have to talk it out over that thing. Just tell him to come back to the manor… Hell, even tell him that you miss him."

Ria blinked. It was a rare occasion when her ghostly trainer swore, but when she did, it was merited. And in that spirit, she dialed in Isaac's number.

It went directly to voicemail.

"Isaac," Ria began, pausing to wet her lips.

What would she say? "Come home"? "We need to talk"? All of those sounded wrong to her.

"Isaac," she repeated. "Isaac… where are you?"

And she hung up. She could see Sara's transparent hand on her shoulder, and she sighed. She glared at her phone a moment, as if it had been its fault that she had not reached the forgemaster. Finally, she dialed the dhampire's number. Again, all she reached was a voicemail.

"Alucard. It's Ria. I need to speak to you ASAP. You've got my number. Call me."

That was, as she hung up once again, arguably the coolest message she had ever left anyone. Usually, she felt like a babbling fool over any machine or voicemail. But she let the miniscule joy that message had given her pass as she made her final call. Once again, only her Uncle's recorded message greeted her. Where _was_ everyone?

"Hey, Uncle Jason! I, um, finally told Mom about meeting you, and she wanted to know if you and Aunt Selene, I guess, wanted to come over to dinner tomorrow night? If you could, give me a call back. Love you."

She hung up, an odd thought occurring to her. Uncle Jason had mentioned only being married for seven years. Did her mother even know that her brother was married? He had known that Jared had died, and that had only been a year ago. Surely she did? Ria shook her head, deciding to bring that fact up once she went back downstairs.

She moved to return her phone to her purse when she paused. Although though she had not listed it to her mother, there was still yet one more call to make. Keisha. Having the number memorized, she quickly hit the keys. The phone rang, twice, before going to voicemail. Ria felt a big wad of emotion catch in her throat.

Keisha had hit ignore. The beep sounded, and Ria left her message… and if she wasn't mistaken, her voice sounded a bit watery.

"I'm sorry, Keish. Really. Please, please call me. Um… I'll see you later. I guess."

Ria slapped the phone shut and sunk onto her bed. With a quick glance about, she noticed that Sara had once again disappeared from sight. Despite herself, the young huntress felt a single, warm tear slide down her face.

All these calls, all these people she knew and loved—or something like it… and she had never felt more alone.

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End Notes: That chaptered ended up being longer than I thought it was going to be. Which is a good thing, because I was really afraid it was going to be the shortest chapter in the fic—which it might still be… I'll have to look. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I look forward to any and all reviews! Oh, and, SPOILER… I know we had another lack of Isaac… but he'll be back next time.

Fun Moment: Okay, so I had posted Ria's middle name on a journal entry I had done on deviantart (if you'd like the link directly to the journal entry in question, just message me or ask me in a review). So I didn't want to change it. As I typed it here, it hit me. Adriana Sophia Smith. What does that make her initials?… Yeah. Poor girl. I just can't give her a break.

On Another Note: I'd just like to add that I've added some links to my profile, one of them, at least, to my personal blog. I talk a lot about my life and, more importantly, my fanfiction on there. So, if you'd like, you can drop in every so often and comment or just keep up with what's going on with me.


	17. Of Dreams and Partners

A/N- Do I really need to go into how busy I keep? LOL, really, I cannot properly convey the world of crazy I've put myself into, writing wise. I shouldn't even be writing on this chapter right now. But I'm hoping it'll actually serve as inspiration to one of my original fiction deadlines. But, you've all always been patient, and I cannot tell you just how _much_ I appreciate that. And the fact that you just keep coming back. Thanks for all your reviews so far, and keep 'em coming! On with the chapter!

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Chapter 16- Of Dreams and Partners

Ria groaned and awoke the next morning to her cell phone vibrating away on her nightstand. She shook her head, rubbing the heel of her hand across her eyes as she reached wildly for the little device. It took her a couple of swipes, but she finally managed to get a hold of it, flipping it open. Her eyes were still blurred a bit from sleep, but when she finally managed to get them to clear, she found herself pleasantly surprised. She had two new voicemails.

She made the call to her inbox, and was a tad disappointed to find that neither were Isaac. It seemed the forgemaster was truly MIA, and it troubled her deeply. Her sadness deepened further to hear that Keisha was not one of those replying either. However, she pushed that gnawing worry in the pit of her stomach aside that her friends' absences caused, finding joy in the fact that her Uncle Jason was the second voicemail. The first was her friendly, neighbor dhampire, requesting in his always serious voice that she call him back "as soon as possible." Uncle Jason, on the other hand, said that he had gotten her message and was simply checking in.

She called her uncle first.

Three rings, and Uncle Jason answered with an almost too chipper, "Hello!" for… Ria groaned. It was already noon.

"Hey! I got your message. Are you free for dinner tonight? You and Aunt Selene?" she asked, forcing a wakefulness that was not genuine into her voice.

He laughed over the phone. "Yeah, but it'll just be me. Your aunt is out of town at a conference. That okay?"

"Oh, that's fine. Actually, and this might be a stupid question, but I was wondering last night… does Mom know you're married?"

He laughed again, but this time it had the distinct ring to it that told Ria that had, indeed, been a stupid question.

"Of course she does, but the two haven't formally met. And apparently that's not yet destined to happen. Well, Ria, I've got to run. What time do you want me over?"

"Five good?"

"I'll be there with bells. Love you."

She smiled widely, comforting warmth filling her. "Love you too, Uncle Jason."

The line disconnected and, while still riding the wave of happiness that came with knowing the love of a family member, she dialed in Alucard's number. He answered on the first ring and sounded decidedly less cheerful. Ria's gaze slid sideways out her window, noting the bright sunlight that was unusually warm for October. She wondered if dhampires were as affected by sunlight as vampires were.

"This is what you consider as soon as possible?" he snapped.

She arched a brow. Well, it certainly did nothing for their mood.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine. Was there something particularly urgent happening?"

Alucard sighed, and when he spoke next, he sounded significantly less grumpy.

"I got your voicemail. I apologize for being unable to answer. I was in the middle of trying to find out who Death's partner was."

Ria sat up in her bed. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing."

She growled, falling back into her pillows. Alucard allowed himself a small chuckle.

"My thoughts exactly. But I've not given up. I still have others with whom I can speak about this matter."

Ria nodded, fully aware that the move was useless over the telephone. "And I've still got the journals and the book that Uncle Jason gave me. I've read half of that one looking for Galamoth anyway, might as well keep going and see if I can find anything else."

"It's all we have at the moment, I'm afraid. I don't believe summoning Death again to try for the extra information would be wise."

"I wasn't aware we were even considering that option!" she replied, incredulous.

"We must do what we must. Galamoth—"

"Must be stopped. Yeah, _believe_ me, I know."

"Hmm. Well, until we meet again. Farewell."

The line disconnected just as Ria remembered why she had originally called him. She stared at her phone a moment before deciding that that dhampire did not need any further annoyances like her calling him back to tell him about telling everything to her mother. She would do it later.

She finally felt awake as it hit her how much information she had to share with Sophy this morning. She ran her fingers through her hair to smooth it as much as possible and pulled on a knee-length, pink silken robe over her spaghetti strap top and loose pajama bottoms. She bounded out of her bedroom and down the stairs to the manor, heading for the kitchen first.

"Mom, Uncle Jason said he'd love to come to dinner tonight!" she said, grabbing the threshold to slide herself inside the room.

… where she stopped. Sitting across from Sophy, his hand around a thermal paper cup of coffee, was Isaac. He did not look any different—and Ria did not know why she expected that he would. He was dressed in his usual all black arraignment, his crimson hair falling all about his face and one of his eyes. The grin he sent her way was short lived, and he did not even attempt words.

"Jason's coming? What time? And is Selene coming with him?" Sophy asked, standing.

Ria was just barely aware of her mother's words. Sophy moved toward her daughter as Ria managed answers.

"No, Aunt Selene's away. He'll be here at five."

"Then I'll call Darren, get a shower, and all that kind of stuff," Sophy said, moving past Ria. She stopped just past her daughter's shoulder, adding in a whisper, "Talk to Isaac."

She exited the kitchen before Ria could respond. Isaac kicked the chair across from him slightly out from underneath the table, gesturing slowly to it. She walked over, taking careful steps as if moving around in a minefield. As soon as she sank into it, Isaac spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ria. I never meant… what I mean is I didn't want you to feel… I'm sorry."

He looked so sad. It hurt her more than she could explain to see such a twisted look of pain on his face. She shook her head, reaching a hand out toward him.

"Why are you apologizing? _I_ should be the one apologizing. I ran out after you kissed me. I acted like a complete idiot. I've never been good at confronting my feelings, especially when it comes to… well, stuff. Particularly boy stuff. I'm a relationship wimp. I should have handled things better."

"I-I _attacked_ you," he moaned, looking down at the table.

Ria grinned. "We really need to work on your definition of 'attack.' To clarify, you _kissed_ me. Passionately, I might add."

She paused here, blushing when the former forgemaster looked up at her. She found her own eyes darting down now as she picked back up on her train of thought.

"What I mean to say is… we need to talk about this stuff. I suck at this kind of thing. But I've seen enough sitcoms and enough of my mother and father together to know that this Talk has to be had."

"Sounds reasonable," Isaac said, clearing his throat. "Where should we start?"

"I… I don't know."

Silence fell as the two looked determinately away from one another. Finally, Isaac only shook his head, laughing.

"I am—or was—a Devil Forgemaster for Dracula. I've killed, maimed, tortured, and done all sorts of other very evil things," he said.

Ria lifted a brow. She wondered if there was a point to this reliving of his horrible past.

"All of that… and this is the hardest thing I'll ever do," he said, locking eyes with her. "I'm in love with you, Ria. I don't know when it happened or how. I've—and I can say this safely—never felt this way about another person before. When I think of something happening to you, my heart tightens and my lungs stop working. And when you ran out the other night… it felt like death."

A tear rolled down Ria's cheek, and she felt ridiculous. She had never been one for the relationship dramatics, rolling her eyes at romantic movies and novels and everything. But now that it was happening to her, and now that the drama was really real… to hear how she had _hurt_ him… her lips quivered.

"I thought you were never coming back," she whimpered. "I thought that I had screwed up again. That someone I cared about was gone from me, and that I was losing someone else I can't live without."

Isaac blinked. Ria knew what she was referencing, and she really hoped that he did not ask. She still blamed herself for her mother's kidnapping the previous year. She still missed her father, no matter how much she had moved on—which, some days, felt like not at all. And now, with Keisha, her only living, age-appropriate friend refusing to talk to her… it felt like the world was crashing down around her ears. Thankfully, though, Isaac was true to his natural ego—the one time that Ria was counting on it.

"You care about me? You… you can't live without me?"

She laughed, wiping her tears. "Yeah… but, I still don't know if that's love. I'm sixteen, Isaac. I've never… well, until that night, I'd never been kissed. And you're… old enough to be more than my grandfather… you're old enough to be my _ancestor_. Hell, you _knew_ one of my ancestors! I'm confused. And then we have this blood bond…"

Isaac chuckled, muttering, "Well, I suppose that kiss could've gone better… great," before adding aloud, "Technically, though, I'm still the age I was when I died."

"Which was what? Twenty-six? That's a ten year difference."

Isaac frowned, taking a quick swig from his cup of coffee before continuing.

"The blood bond has nothing to do with my feelings. I've told you… I hated Walter, and our bond was stronger than the one you and I have."

Ria grinned, shaking her head. "I _do_ care for you… but I don't know that it's love. I mean, we live together but I don't really _know_ you. I only know your past actions. I mean," she scoffed here, gesturing at his coffee, "I don't even know how you get your money."

The old grin she had missed, the sly, mischievous one lit the former forgemaster's face as he peered out at her from under his crimson locks. Ria, for the first time, acknowledged the flutter that her heart did at this.

"Oh… I have my _ways_," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Please don't leave again. I can't go without _that_ again."

"I won't. Promise."

Ria nodded, her smile brighter than it had been in days.

"I don't know where this leaves us, though," Isaac said. "I've said my piece. I'm in love with you. It's that simple for me."

"And I don't know what I feel. Can we be friends? Can we get to know each other better, past all the vampire hunting and devil forging?"

Isaac stretched a lazy hand across the table. "Deal. Friends until you can make up your mind."

Ria leapt from her chair, running to wrap her arms about his neck. It felt childish, but the moment his arms slowly enclosed her, she knew that it was the right thing to do.

"Please, please, don't leave. I was crazy without you," she whispered into his shoulder.

His hug tightened, not unpleasantly, and he gave a soft chuckle.

"I can't wait for you to realize what that means," he said.

Ria chose not to reply as she pulled away. As if watching from the other room—and she probably had been—Sophy swung herself across the threshold. If Ria did not know better, her mother's smile looked at least double the width hers was.

"Darren said he'll be here tonight for dinner. Is everything… okay?"

Ria and Isaac exchanged a look, and Ria looked back to her mother with a nod.

"Yeah. Everything's just fine."

…

Ria was on cloud nine. Save for the trouble with Keisha, all seemed right in her world for the first time in a long time. Isaac was back, and he had slipped back into his usual snide self easily—as if he had never gone MIA. Jason was coming over to have dinner with the family, and Ria did not even mind that that included Darren. Even Sara had made herself present, seeming to just bask in Ria's high spirits.

She bounded down the steps of the manor, coming to a skidding halt in the foyer, at exactly a quarter to five. Isaac lifted a brow at her as she did a little dance right where she stopped.

"I've never seen you dance before," he said.

Ria stopped, blinking. "Sorry. I hadn't realized that I _was_ dancing."

Isaac lifted a hand, shaking it dismissively. "No, it's quite all right. But, if I may say, I'd stick to my vampire hunter training."

She playfully punched him on the arm just as Sophy crossed the foyer, heading for the dining room.

"Your uncle should be here any minute," she said moments before vanishing into the other room.

Ria stole a glance at her watch and nodded. She turned toward the front door of the manor as the sound of a car pulling up the drive caught her attention. Her face split into a goofy grin. She felt like a child at Christmas, full of giddy glee, but she did not care. It had been a long time since she had been riding that high, so she was going to hang on to that feeling as much as possible.

"I think he's here," she said, heading out the front door.

She came to a stop on the small top step in front of their door, Isaac standing at her shoulder. Sure enough, Jason's car was slowly pulling up the drive behind Darren's. Her uncle lifted a hand in greeting, a smile on his shadowed face. Ria lifted a hand to return it when she paused.

Jason's face changed. A look of sheer panic bubbled up to the surface as his eyes locked onto something ahead of him, and his hand dropped quickly back to the steering wheel. His car came to a screeching stop, and he floored it in reverse. In a blink of an eye, he was back out on the main road and gone.

"What the hell?" Isaac asked as Ria glanced over at him.

"Good question," she said, digging in her jeans' pocket for her cellphone.

She had only just pulled it free, about to dial in Isaac's question to her uncle, when Sophy, with Darren behind her, poked her head out of the door.

"I heard this awful screeching noise. What was it?"

Isaac and Ria exchanged a glance.

"Um," Ria said, eyeing her phone. "Um, it was just someone on the road. Yeah, they, um, hit a slick patch."

"What from? It hasn't rained in forever," Darren mused.

"Uncle Jason called," Ria said, cutting right across Darren's statement. "He had to cancel. He apologizes."

"Oh," Sophy said, and her face looked visibly sadder. "Well. Dinner's done. I'm setting the table now."

She and Darren disappeared back inside the house. Ria turned to Isaac.

"Was it just me or…?"

Isaac nodded. "He left when he spotted Darren's car."

Ria shook her head. "Can't have a normal day. Just can't. All right, we're not telling Mom until we find out why he freaked, okay?"

"Sounds good to me."

…

Dinner had been a largely quiet affair that night. Sophy's disappointment at her brother's lack of showing was evident no matter how hard she tried to grin and reply to anything Darren said to her. And Ria's mind was occupied with a fresh suspicion—or rather, an old one revisited. Why would Jason take off at just the sight of Darren's car? What did he know that she did not? This led both the Smith girls into a silent reverie with Darren and Isaac left to make small talk. The night ended on a very low note, which Ria was getting used to, as she finally made her way to bed.

But even her dreams would not leave her alone.

She was back in the cult member's body, that same fuzzy frame around her vision. It was dark, as usual, and they were all kneeling around a stone altar. Ria wanted to sigh, wanted to wake up. She was so tired of her dreams using someone else's memories. She had enough of her own problems for her subconscious to work with.

It took several moments for the young vampire hunter to realize that the person she was inhabiting, along with the other robed members, were chanting. She could not understand it at first—as it was in a different language.

"_Pura et infectae_. _Pura et infectae_."

Over and over the words were chanted, each round growing in volume and intensity. Ria tried to look around, to see if the other cult members had their heads bowed just as determinately forward as hers did. But whoever she was hitching a ride with was not having it.

"What are you saying?" she tried to scream, but her lips only formed the chant again.

Did the person she was in even know what the words meant? She took a settling breath, calming her mind as much as possible. The words grew in volume, "_pura et infectae, pura et infectae_," until, finally, Ria heard them—their translation—in her mind.

"Pure and tainted. Pure and tainted."

Ria was not sure that knowing what they meant made her feel any better. Suddenly, her view shifted, and the cult member stood. She could see the top of the altar now, and lying upon it was a woman. She was nude, with nothing but a shift of red fabric covering her. Her eyes were closed, but her breaths were deep and steady—like she was sleeping. Ria's stomach rolled.

This was not going to end well.

"Pure and tainted. Pure and tainted. Pure and tainted!" the voices rose higher and higher as the circle of cult members closed in on the poor woman.

"Wake up! Please! Wake _up_!" Ria tried her best to yell, but again, nothing.

There were glimmers of silver all around her as each member of the cult raised a dagger high into the air. Daggers? Ria knew that these memories, dreams, whatever, were not set that far back in the past. Who the hell carried daggers anymore?

"Wake up!" she attempted to scream again.

One cult member was taking the lead as the others were falling just a step behind. All the while, the chanting had never ceased. The lead cultist came to a stop just over the woman's head—her brunette hair laying splayed out all about her head.

"Pure and tainted!"

With that last cry, the leader plunged the dagger deep into the woman's heart. And Ria awoke screaming.

* * *

End Notes: Okay, this wasn't my favorite chapter thus far. However, I did enjoy that last scene there. As for Ria and Isaac's little relationship talk… yeah, we all know that that's not the end of that. This is also shorter than some of my other chapters have been. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this. Please review!


	18. No I in Team

A/N- Back again! Having a clear outline and a clear date I want this story finished by is really helping to keep me on track. As usual, I'm busy, busy, busy. And as of late, I'm afraid I've been rather lazy. My time is getting shorter and shorter to work on certain projects, so I've really got to pick up the pace. Maybe getting this chapter out will be a swift kick in the butt in that respect. Maybe. Thanks for all the reviews thus far, and keep 'em coming!

* * *

Chapter 17- No "I" in Team

"Time is growing short," Galamoth growled, his voice rumbling down from the rafters of the abandoned cathedral.

The leader of the Osiris cult looked up at his fearsome master, his pale face twisted as if having an internal argument with himself. He looked back at his fellow cult members, both of Osiris and Anubis. They averted their eyes as the Osiris leader lifted his eyes once more.

"Yes, but, with all due respect, milord… A sacrifice? We've tried that once before… you remember how that ended."

Galamoth's large eye roved to lock onto the man, who flinched. The other cult members scooted, as quickly as possible, away from him.

"Do you dare question _me_?"

The Osiris leader was quick to disagree, waving his hands and shaking his head frantically.

"No, no, of course not! I merely meant… what of Dracula's Throne? I don't understand. I thought that the Throne was all that you required, now that you are free."

Galamoth rested back on his haunches, still bent under the high ceiling of his hideout.

"The Throne grows too malevolent. I fear that by the time you pathetic worms manage to retrieve it, it will be too hard to channel into the spell. _That_ is why I require a sacrifice. A young woman, both pure and tainted."

"But, Lord Galamoth, the last time—"

Galamoth slammed the end of his golden staff down on the floor, the force of it reverberating about the room.

"With my freedom, such a thing will not happen again!" he roared. "I trust that you fools will be able to properly identify a sacrifice that will meet the requirements of the spell?"

"Yes, milord," the cultists murmured.

"You had better. For all your sakes. Now leave me!"

…

Ria threw her head back against the rest of the driver's seat. She let a long and exaggerated groan escape her throat as she hit her hands against her Rio's steering wheel.

"Forever, Red Light!" she yelled at the stoplight hanging in front of her.

As per usual, her moaning did nothing to speed the change of the light. Across in the opposite lane, a large truck—a diesel made for hauling large or large quantities of items—steadily worked toward regaining its pace as it crossed the intersection. Ria turned her head, glaring at it as if this would also make the light change to green. The back of the truck was open, and she spied what looked like a large amount of darkly stained church pews. She lifted a brow as the truck left her view. It felt odd for reasons she could not rationally explain to herself that she should see a truck hauling pews. She shook it off with a shrug as the light, finally, turned green.

It was less than a mile, and then she made the turn into her school's parking lot. Ria frowned to see that Keisha had not saved her the usual parking spot beside her own vehicle—again. Instead, Ria was forced to park three rows away. Of course, what had she expected? She had not been able to get a hold of Keisha since that incident at dinner—which had been a little less than a week ago. It had been a slow week too, having been unable to contact Uncle Jason about his little freak-out or learning nothing more on Galamoth. She lifted the hot cup of coffee that Isaac had prepared for—which caused her to contemplate it more than one should contemplate coffee—and pushed herself out of her Rio.

It was cold today, and Ria could see her breath. She cursed her inadequate jacket as she walked as inconspicuously to her homeroom as possible. She entered it in just the same manner, eyes scanning for Keisha. She found her, dressed just as any fashionista would be in the latest fall style, sitting in the desk at the very back of the row right next to the wall on the opposite side of the white room. Ria was sure that it was all in her head, that Keisha could not have possibly worked it out, but all the desks nearest her were filled. Ria chose to sit in the last desk on the row by the door.

Mrs. Havish—her homeroom teacher—entered just as the first bell sounded and took role. Finally, she looked up from her grade book.

"The principle has asked me to announce that those of you on the planning committee for the Halloween dance may take today to be excused from class to finish up the details for the it. You will be expected, however, to complete any assigned homework. You may go as soon as homeroom is dismissed."

Ria lifted a brow and allowed herself a small grin. Apparently Halloween was a huge deal for this school or something seeing as the planning committee had missed a decent amount of class. She stifled a giggle at this. Of course Halloween was important. After all, Transylvania was famous for its vampires.

And that thought sucked all the humor out of her. Lifting sad eyes, she turned her attention to Keisha, who was busy looking out of the window as if her favorite television show was playing on the panes… or maybe it was squirrels with lightsabers. With a heavy sigh, Ria awaited the ringing of the bell that signaled the end of homeroom. She scooped up her coffee and backpack, making her way towards the cafeteria. The committee had not met in the gym since Monday so they would be sure not to disrupt the decorations. Instead, they had been mucking out the details such as games, music, prizes, and food. However, Ria, along with a small crowd emerging forth, was called to a stop by Keisha—their president.

"Back to the gym today, guys. I just want to do some touch up decorating, and Mrs. Havish found a whole two boxes of decorations we haven't used," she called.

With a couple of the freshmen groaning, the committee lugged themselves to the gym.

"The dance is tomorrow night, guys," Keisha announced as soon as they arrived at the black-and-orange, black-cat-raven-witch-ghost-mummy-vampire-and-what-have-you decorated gym. "Let's have this place looking amazing before we leave today!"

They were assigned jobs, and Keisha had simply motioned to Ria and the couple of random, older students nearest to her, telling them to work at setting up the game area.

This radio silence from Keisha was killing her. Not to mention it was deeply depressing and unnerving. There were so many questions floating about Ria's mind, and working with two people she had never met before was not actually working enough as a distraction from them.

The two older high-schoolers had sussed out that they should each take a game or two and set it up. Ria got landed with the pumpkin carving contest, the cake walk, _and_ the make-a-mummy games. She was grateful in the instant that they had been assigned—and she didn't mind that _she_ was the vice-president, and should technically be doing the assigning—since she had hoped that they would be a distraction from her never-ending paranoia. As it turns out, the set up to the three games seemed the easiest of all the games—much to the chagrin of the older classmen—and did little to help.

The day dragged on as Ria set up the tables, assigned prizes, and used masking tape to make a circle of numbers for the cake walk. And all the while, her mind was racing.

Had Keisha told anyone about her secret? Surely not, since most people would think she was crazy. Or maybe she had just had her father call up his army buddies, and Ria was simply biding her time before she was hauled off to be studied like an alien in Roswell. Or maybe Keisha had reassessed what had happened that night and decided that her and her dad had just been seeing things. But that would not explain why Keisha still was not speaking to Ria.

Ria kept her eyes on Keisha all throughout the day, almost to the point where she was starting to feel a little stalkerish. The final bell of the day rang, and everyone but Ria and Keisha stopped working. It took a moment for Keisha to see it, but she eventually waved the rest of the workers on home, telling them that she expected them to be at the dance, in costume. She also announced that she was staying behind to finish up. Without saying a word, Ria agreed that she would do the same.

It was another ten or so minutes of living inside her own crazy head before Ria finally just got fed up. She and Keisha were still across the gym from one another, not saying a word. Dropping what she was doing, Ria crossed the gym in several strides, ready to unleash a tirade of craziness on her (former?) friend. She had to know what Keisha planned to do with the information on Ria and her family.

"Keisha," Ria began, taking in a deep breath. "I think we should—"

But Keisha cut her off in a whirl of hair and pink press-on nails. She gripped Ria's arms, her eyes watery, wide, and afraid.

"Ria, I think I've been followed all this week by one of those crazy cult members that attacked you at my house."

Ria gripped Keisha in just the same way, leaning close to her.

"_What_? Tell me what's going on."

Keisha gulped, nodding. "It started Saturday. I went to the café, and when I was leaving with my order, I thought I saw one of those robed guys out of the corner of my eye. I shook it off, figurin' I was just still shaken up from what had happened the night before. But I _kept_ seeing him, Ria. Everywhere I went—the library, the park, home, _everywhere_! And I'm pretty certain Ria… in fact, I'm one hundred _percent_ certain that he's out there right now, waiting for me."

"That's what you were staring at out the window this morning?" Ria muttered, and Keisha nodded. "But… why didn't you _call_ me? I would've been right there, Keisha."

Keisha released her hold on her friend, wrapping her arms about her waist.

"I don't know. I thought that they might've bugged my phone or something… that they'd hurt me or dad if I tried to call for help."

Ria huffed a hollow laugh. "Trust me, Keisha. With these types, phone taps are the _least_ of your worries."

The fashionista shook her head. "What are we going to do? He's out there, Ria. Right now, waiting for me… waiting for you. I don't know!"

Ria grinned, jogging to her over-large purse. Keisha was close behind.

"I'll tell you what _I'm_ gonna do," she said, plunging a hand inside the purple bag.

Keisha furrowed her brow as Ria withdrew the Vampire Killer.

"I'm gonna kick his ass," she concluded as Keisha's eyes widened. "Stay here."

"The hell I am," she replied, puffing out her chest.

Ria rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you do what I say, okay?"

Keisha nodded and fell quickly into step behind her. "I spotted him in the trees at the boundary line of the school. On the right side of the parking lot."

Ria wrapped the whip around her waist, trying to make it look as harmless as possible. She grinned widely to see Sara appear in front of her as they exited the gym.

"I'll go ahead and look. There might be a way to sneak up on _him_," the ghost said with a decisive nod.

Ria held her hand up to Keisha, telling her to stop. "Thanks, Sara."

"Who's Sara, Ria?" Keisha asked, looking around.

Ria laughed. "Now this part _is_ going to sound crazy. Sara is the reason this whip is so effective against vampires, monsters, and the like. She was a young woman—the fiancée to one of my ancestors—who was tainted by a vampire. She gave her life, binding her soul to this whip. Only the female heirs to the Belmont legacy can see her."

There was a long moment of silence before Ria gave a sheepish blush.

"Thinking about calling the men with the white coats?"

Keisha shook her head. "I watched you fight off a group of robed cult members that burst through the windows and door of my house. And now I'm being followed by one. At this point, I'm open to anything."

"Oh, then you're gonna love it when I give you the full story on Isaac."

Keisha started to ask, but Sara appeared before Ria.

"He's still there, and he is definitely waiting for Keisha. If you go around this way," Sara said, motioning far to the right, "you'll be able to sneak up behind him."

"Have I ever told you how handy your invisibility is?" Ria grinned.

Sara shrugged, playfully turning up her nose. "No, and it wouldn't hurt you to do it a little more often."

"Noted," Ria said before motioning for Keisha to follow silently behind her.

The two crept into the nearest wooded area, and Ria whispered to Keisha to watch her step. The last thing she needed was that cult member to hear one of them snap a twig or crunch a leaf. Sara took on the role as guide, telling Ria when she should turn left or right. If Keisha had had any true doubts about Sara's existence, the sheer perfection with which Ria moved through the woods removed them. After all, Ria was not exactly known for her sense of direction.

"He's there!" Sara said, pointing, but Ria had seen him anyhow.

He was dressed in burgundy robes, and the way the hood was turned, it was obvious that his eyes were trained on the gym's entrance. Ria motioned for Keisha to take a step back as she quietly undid the Vampire Killer. With an acidic grin, she struck out, and the cry that left the cult member's mouth was one more of surprise than pain. He whirled, losing his footing, and Ria pressed her advantage. She leapt, pinning the cult member to the ground just as his hood fell back.

He was an average guy, one that someone would not blink twice at running into at the grocery store or library. His brown hair was cut short, and his eyes were sort of a dull chocolate color. Ria shook her head.

"You're human. Why the hell would humans want to worship some demon like Galamoth?"

Keisha looked on in both shock and horror between Ria and the pinned cult member.

"Why were you following my friend?" Ria demanded, not quite sure what she had to threaten the man with.

After all, the whip was really more of a stand-and-use weapon. Unfortunately, the cult member knew that too.

"You've crossed the wrong evil, hunter. Lord Galamoth will see your destruction," he grinned, giving him a whole new, manic light.

"Keisha, do you have your phone on you?"

Keisha nodded, pulling her flip phone from her pocket. Ria turned her head, about to recite either Isaac's or Alucard's number to the girl—after all, how was _she_ going to get this idiot off school grounds? But the moment she took her attention off him, he muttered a few words in another language. Latin, Ria guessed just moments before the force of his spell blew her up into the air and several feet away from him. The cult member jumped to his feet, turning and running at top speed. Ria lost no time in following him, and as the two of them reached the edge of the busy road, he leapt out. Ria put one foot onto the asphalt, and she felt hands jerk her back into the grass.

"He's gone, Ria!" Keisha shouted, sounded a bit squeaky.

Ria sucked in air as she backed a few more inches away from the road. Then, letting herself fall onto her rear, she hit the ground, shouting, "Damn it!" Of course, that did nothing but hurt her hand.

"I'm sure you scared him off," Keisha said.

Ria shook her head. "It's not that. There went my last chance at a way to get _decent_ information on Galamoth! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Keisha sighed, crossed her arms, and looked back toward the spot where they had had the cult member pinned. Her head tilted as she rested a hand on Ria's shoulder.

"Maybe not, Ria. What's that?" she said, pointing.

Ria turned, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like a rock."

She stood and approached the object. It was indeed made of stone, but was definitely not _just_ a rock. Taking her chances—because at this point, she just did not care—she bent and picked it up. It was shaped like a wide V, the bottom of it rough, like it had been broken off of a larger design. At the points at the top of the V there were red stones.

"Well, it's a weird rock. I'll have Isaac take a look at it," she said, turning back to Keisha.

"Does this strange stuff happen to you all the time, Ria?"

Ria laughed. "Yes to the strange, no to the cult members. They're new."

Keisha shook her head. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"I say we go home and just fortify ourselves for tomorrow's dance."

Keisha smiled. "_That_ I can handle."

* * *

End Notes: And Ria and Keisha's friendship is restored! Nothing says, "I'm your best friend," like tracking and pinning down the cult member stalking your BFF. Okay, folks, I'm entirely too excited about the next chapter. That's right… we've finally made it. The Halloween Dance. Will Ria finally get a night to relax and have fun? Heh, don't count on it. Now, a couple of off-fanfic notes: I have a fanart done for the next chapter, and after it's posted—the chapter—I'll post that fanart for all to see. And secondly… I've entered an original fiction contest at this one website. To be considered as a finalist, you must stay within the top seven, voting wise. Right now, I'm in fifth, which is great. However, I'd like to stay there or get higher. So, if you have a free moment, please visit my profile and the link to my story will be at the very top. If you like the story, give it your vote. It'll be much appreciated! Thanks, and please review!

Extra: Can anyone guess where I got the "squirrels with lightsabers" bit from? A cookie to whoever does!


	19. Trust Issues

A/N- Okay, so I'm breaking my cycle here. Usually, I put up a chapter of my Batman: the Animated Series/Buffy: the Vampire Slayer crossover before I put up a chapter of this one. Or I put this one first, depending on your POV. Either way, I usually do Keys-Trials-Keys and repeat. However, I'm feeling a little less than inspired for my latest Keys chapter, where I'm totally hyped for this one. Thus, you guys get this chapter! Meanwhile, I'm still booked out on my original fiction. And I've recently moved—not to a stable address, mind you. My fiancé started culinary school, we're both looking for jobs, and so on and so forth. Also, I had a totally exciting week last week as my sister gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl! Pics of the little cutie are up at my blog, Life, the Trishverse, and Everything. (There's a link on my profile.) But I'm putting this chapter out because I'm just so damned excited for it. We get some answers here, folks. Want to know more? Well, then read on and enjoy!

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Chapter 18- Trust Issues

It seemed like forever, but the night had finally arrived. The Halloween Dance. Ria could hardly believe it as she trudged through her day at school, wondering just a little if the big dance she, Keisha, and the rest of the Planning Committee had decorated for had not just be some huge dream. But her fellow classmates could not keep their minds on their work, whispering behind hands and passing notes on the costumes they were planning and the dates they were meeting. All the teachers had given up any hope of completing any coursework—save for Mr. Hamm, who had a talent for keeping his students in line. But the day finally ended, which left Keisha and Ria parting with Keisha promising to meet her at Belmont Manor before the dance—which was only four hours later.

Ria's Rio zoomed into the driveway, and she leapt out to disapproving looks from her mother and Sara. Both of whom commented on her "recklessness" as she disappeared into the manor. Sophy almost had to hog-tie her daughter to her chair at dinner time, and Ria ate with a speed she had previously thought herself incapable of. Sara looked mildly disgusted with the show, while Isaac looked impressed.

And if she was honest with herself, Ria was quite surprised and impressed with herself as well. She had not thought that the dance would hold this sort of excitement for her. After all, she had faced Dracula, king of the vampires… how could a dance measure up to that? But she was still a girl, a teenage girl at that, and the school dance was still an opportunity for things that seemed coded into her very DNA.

It was an hour before Keisha was due to show, so Ria had sequestered herself in her room. She had decided on Poison Ivy, the villainess of Batman fame, as her costume and had, without anyone's knowledge, been working on a homemade version of the rather risqué adult costumes for the character. Hers was much tamer, as she was sure her mother would not have let her out of her bedroom, let alone the house, in such a revealing outfit. She had found a leaf pattern online and had made—painstakingly—_several_ of them out of green felt. Enough for her to attach to a simple nude skirt and corset top.

Of course, it helped that your ghostly vampire trainer was a woman from a time when knowing how to do such things was a must. Otherwise, Ria would have ended up going store-bought—which means she would have gone as someone else. With a grin, she pulled on the skirt, which came mid-thigh—it would still be a close call with Sophy—and the corset top. Sara appeared in the corner of the room as Ria set to work on her make-up.

"You did quite well. I think you could be a very talented seamstress," Sara commented.

Ria grinned as she brushed on a mascara that would make her lashes flare. "Thanks, but I think I'll past that over as a career choice. Besides, I don't think I have the patience for it."

Sara nodded, no doubt remembering the endless complaints of, "Oh God, can't this go any faster?" as Ria had sewed on each leaf.

Ria finished her eyes with a bright red shadow, as she had colored her skin a very light hue of green. She painted her lips a dark green to compliment her skin, pulling on a pair of bright red heels as she finally sat back.

"I didn't buy a wig," she muttered as a knock sounded at her door.

She muttered consent to enter as Isaac opened the door. He paused, blinking at her.

"Nice," he said.

She grinned. "There's just no way you could say that without sounding creepy."

He seemed a little bashed by that, but brushed it off as he moved to stand behind her.

"You didn't buy a wig, did you?"

"No," she groaned. "I can't believe I forgot. I guess Keisha and I can stop by the store and buy some of that colored hairspray stuff."

A mischievous grin lit Isaac's face as he lifted his hands up over her head.

"Or…"

He muttered a few words in another language, and Ria gasped. Right before her eyes, not only did her hair grow a few inches, but it turned a bright red. She reached back, running her fingers through it as Isaac grinned smugly at his work.

"That's _amazing_," Ria said, whirling toward the former forgemaster.

"An amazing abusing of magical talents," Sara muttered.

Ria ignored her as she thanked Isaac with a hug.

"You're a lifesaver!"

"It's a simple glamour," he said with a cough as he stepped away from her. "Really, it's nothing. It'll wear off around one in the morning."

Ria arched a brow. "I have to be back before midnight. Why didn't you just set it for then?"

"Pfft. That's so cliché!"

She could not argue with that. With another "thank you," she heard the doorbell ring. She turned toward the sound, shouting, "I've got it!"

Ria bounded out of her bedroom and down the stairs, forgetting the heels she wore. She almost landed on her face at the bottom of the stairs, managing to regain her balance at the last moment as she willed herself to slow and walk to the door. She opened it, smiling at Keisha.

Keisha was in leather—or another fabric like it—from head to toe, and looked very much like the Michelle Pfeiffer version of Catwoman. And not a strand of her hair showed from underneath the skin-tight mask. She blinked at Ria, instructing her to twirl in place for her.

"Very nice," Keisha said, offering a high-five to her friend.

"Oh, yeah, it's not creepy when _she_ says it?" Isaac commented, descending the stairs.

"Totally different context," Ria noted. She turned to Keisha, adding, "You look great too. Where did you find that costume?"

"Made it, like you did yours. Mom showed me how."

Ria pursed her lips, and after a few moments of silence, Keisha laughed.

"I know that sounded weird. Mom's dead, Ria, so she didn't show me _recently_. She showed me how to sew, I meant. Mom knew how to do a lot of different things. Dad's said in the past that I don't know the half of them."

"Oh."

Keisha did not offer any more explanation. Instead, she shared a couple of playful quips with Isaac—the flirting, for some reason, not bothering Ria as much as usual—before turning to her now red-haired friend.

"Ready to rock this thing?" she asked.

"In just a minute. I've gotta find Mom and say bye."

"Okay. I'll be in the car," Keisha said, waving bye to Isaac, adding Sara's name on as an awkward afterthought. The ghost laughed.

Ria's playful excitement melted away for a moment as she turned toward the whip-bound woman and the devil forger.

"I told you about that cult member, right? We need to get a move on finding that other servant."

"No, I thought I'd just sit here, twiddling my thumbs," Isaac drawled.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Aren't you taking the Vampire Killer with you?"

Ria shook her head. "I don't have a place to hide it, and I don't want to leave it in Keisha's car. I'm riding with her, remember?"

"But you should, Ria, especially considering the events of yesterday," Isaac said, without missing a beat.

There were moments, like these, when Ria forgot that Isaac could not hear or see Sara. But when they hit her, they always creeped her out.

"Guys, I've got my money in my bra. I doubt I can fit a whip in there."

Isaac turned a bright shade of crimson. Ria had to bite her lip to keep herself from grinning. She did not mean to keep making him blush or feel embarrassed; it just kept happening.

"Anyway, Isaac, while I'm gone, do all the research you can. I'll be in work mode when I come back. That means—"

He held up his hands in a "stop" motion. "I know, I know. It means calling the dhampire. You know, this really isn't fair. Why do you get to go off and have fun while we've got to do all the work?"

Ria's and Sara's glares were almost identical, and Isaac immediately retracted his statement, wishing her "all the fun" she could have. Ria shouted a "good-bye" to her mother, ducking out before Sophy could actually _see_ the short skirt.

She was in Keisha's car in moments, and they were at the school in minutes. The parking lot was full, and there was a line out of the gym door of costumed party goers. Keisha was glowing.

"Awesome!" she kept squealing over and over.

This dance was her baby, and Ria thought she deserved this. The students that had gathered were all laughing and chattering away, barely able to contain their excitement. Keisha did a little happy dance as she and Ria entered ahead of the line. Halloween-themed music was pumping in from beyond the lobby, and it was clear to see that the building was already packed. In fact, Ria was fairly surprised. She had not realized this many people even attended the school.

"Oh, Ria, Ria, Ria!" Keisha said, gripping Ria's arm and bouncing in place. "Look at it!"

"You did great, Keisha," Ria grinned.

"We all did! Come on! We've got games to man!"

With that, Ria was dragged into the crowd.

Colors and costumes seemed to whirl around her as Ria made her way back and forth between various game booths. She started out with Keisha at the Costume Contest sign-up table before there was enough interest for the Cake Walk to begin. She had to navigate the very packed dance floor on more than one occasion as she was also ensuring that the other members of the Committee were doing their parts in managing the games. Only one or two of the older classmates needed a stern "get to work" shouted over the music at them. Keisha seemed an endless font of energy, a bright smile never wavering as she seemed to be in several places at once. And somehow, and Ria was sure she would never quite figure this one out, Keisha had even managed to work in fulfilling a dance request from a very cute guy from the junior class. Before Ria knew it, an hour and a half of pure dance normality had passed… and she had not even danced yet. Keisha, her eye sharper than normal this evening, noticed this and ordered her VP to take a break. Ria did not need telling twice. The moment she was free, she slipped into the lobby, making a beeline for the sodas.

"Dr. Pepper, please," Ria requested of the student behind the counter.

The student turned away with a nod, reaching for a cup to fill. Ria sighed, hanging her head down as she tried to shake the tiredness from her limbs.

"Your mother let you out in that skirt?"

Ria jumped, turning. Standing in front of her, completely not in costume, was her Uncle Jason. Ria jumped again as the student quoted the price of her drink to her. Ria shoved a dollar to the girl, grabbing up the soda and turning so quickly that she almost spilled it. After all, if she did not move fast enough, her uncle might speed out of the gym.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as the two of them took a few steps away from the counter.

"I'm a chaperone for tonight."

Ria narrowed her eyes at him. "You have kids that go here?"

He smiled. "No. I graduated from here, though, and it'll probably be where I send my kids when I have some."

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Ria hissed. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you since Sunday. What was that mad speed-out about?"

"And your mother lets you use language like that?"

"Uncle Jason!"

He sighed, shaking his head and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"I have a good reason for leaving like I did, but I'm still sorry for it. I was really looking forward to that dinner with you and Sophy. And I'm sorry that I haven't gotten in contact with you, but I've been agonizing over this."

Ria raised a brow. "Over what?"

Jason shook his head again. "Ria, is Sophy dating Doctor Darren Brownton?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

Jason took his niece by her arm, dragging her gently a bit farther away from the growing crowd at the snack counter. He sighed at the green make-up that came off on his hand, wiping it on the leg of his jeans as he leaned in to be eye-to-eye with her.

"Has he been asking you anything? You know, about the Belmont lineage?"

"Why would he—" but Ria stopped, a flood of memories striking her at once. Finally, she tried again with, "He's been taking pictures. Of the inside of the Manor, and he's been trying since the day I met him to get into the Gallery."

Jason shut his eyes, a slow sigh exhaling from his nose. He straighten, shaking his head.

"I was afraid of that."

"What's going on, Uncle Jason?" Ria asked, feeling her body go rigid. "Is Mom in danger?"

"No. At least, not in the way you're thinking. Doctor Brownton has been after the Belmonts for _months_. Actually, a little over a year. He pestered your grandparents nonstop, dying to get inside the Manor or to get them to answer any questions he could think of about the lineage. When they died, he went after me, trying to get me to give him permission to get inside the manor or trying to get me to answer questions."

"What kind of questions?" Ria asked, staring down at her forgotten Dr. Pepper. The ice inside was half melted.

"Dangerous ones. Ones about our history. He suspects something, Ria, and he's dangerously close to finding out the one thing that our family has tried our best to keep hidden… at least, in recent years."

"Vampire hunting. You think he's trying to expose us as vampire hunters?" she whispered.

"I don't think he knows exactly what it is that he's stumbled onto, but he's smart enough to know that it's a well-guarded secret. And he wants to be privy to it."

Ria felt like some invisible hand had just sucker punched her. She was having trouble drawing breath as she set her drink aside on the nearest surface available. Darren was… but Ria could not bring herself to think the complete thought. Not yet. Looking up at her uncle through sad eyes, she sought confirmation.

"Do you think… do you think that Darren is just dating Mom… to _use_ her? For information?"

Jason pursed his lips and refused to give a verbal response. But Ria did not need one. She stumbled back a step, trying drink in it all. Anger was the first and clearest emotion to cross her features, and she was pretty sure that she was going to tear Darren a new one. But this was immediately followed by worry.

"We have to tell her… but I don't know how," Ria muttered.

"I know. But we have to figure it out," Jason agreed.

After a long silence, Ria shook her head. "I have to get back to the dance."

Jason nodded. "I know. Which, I heard that you and your friend did this. Very nice job."

Ria managed a hint of a prideful smile. "Thank you."

She had no sooner turned away from her uncle when her eyes fell upon the next two people entering the gym. Eyes wide, she watched as Alucard—in his disguise as Genya—and Isaac came rushing in, looking as if they were practically tripping over one another. Ria heaved a heavy sigh as she waved the two over. Jason stepped up beside his niece, plainly ready to take part in anything that was about to be said.

"We found him," the devil forger and the dhampire said in unison.

"I hope you mean the other servant," Ria said.

"Yes," Alucard confirmed.

"Great. Where is he?"

Isaac and Alucard exchanged a look.

"Well, to be more correct, we found out _who_ he is, not _where_ he is."

Ria rolled her eyes. "And how's that going to help us?"

"It always helps to know exactly who you are searching for, Adriana," Alucard chastised. "And given the identity of our mystery servant, I imagine it'll make our search a good deal easier."

"Then who is it?" Jason asked.

Isaac eyed the man for a moment, as if wondering where he had come from. Finally, he turned his attention back to Ria, but was beaten to the revelation as Alucard stated, "The Master Librarian of Castlevania."

"I think I remember him," she muttered.

Her memory conjured images of herself and Isaac making their way through the demon and monster infested castle. At one point, the two of them had gotten quite lost in a giant library and had been helped out by an old man in voluminous robes—for a price. That had cost Isaac a good deal of money, which Ria still wondered where he had gotten so much.

"We didn't talk long with him," she added, bringing herself back to the present. "But Isaac and I met him for a bit inside Castlevania."

"He's a rare soul," Alucard said, nodding. "He's human, yet he's been alive for as long as I have—longer. He's a powerful magician, although his talents aren't put to use quite as often anymore."

"I heard that he's one of the few things that never go down with Castlevania. He always manages to escape and live among regular humans in the times between Dracula's risings," Jason added.

"That's correct."

"Well," Ria said, smiling, "this is great. How did you guys figure out that he was the one we're looking for?"

"I managed to track down an older contact of mine, a minor demon," Alucard explained. "As it turned out, fortunately for us, he had been present at the time Galamoth was bound and had set about writing a record of the event."

"But!" Isaac interjected, his chest puffed out. "He wouldn't give the document over to Alucard. I knew him too, however. We're old friends, from back in my devil forging days."

"You mean, your days of serving my father?" Alucard quipped.

Isaac ignored him, continuing, "He handed the record right over."

"Freakin' awesome!" Ria said, meaning exactly that. "So, how do we find him?"

At this, both the dhampire and the devil forger paused. After a long silence, Jason laughed.

"Hadn't thought that far ahead?" her uncle asked.

"But this _does_ make our search easier. It's not like searching for a needle in a haystack anymore," Isaac said quickly, noticing the frown forming on Ria's lips.

"No. Actually, that just told us what type of needle in the hay that we're looking for. As great as this information is, it does us exactly _squat_ if we can't find this Librarian, figure out how to move the Throne, and find wherever Galamoth is at. All of which could have waited until _after_ the dance! Excuse me!"

She made her way past Isaac, who looked overly crestfallen, when her uncle's hand reached out to stop her. It remained resting on her shoulder as Alucard said, "We're running out of time."

"You don't think I know that?" Ria said, glaring at the dhampire.

"No, Ria, I mean that the Throne is getting worse. Sophy came to me—revealing to me that she knew my true identity—"

"Oh, yeah, about that…"

Alucard held up a hand and continued. "Most of the museum staff is ill and getting worse. Even your mother can feel its effects tugging at her. She mentioned that she had been physically ill several times that day."

Ria felt her stomach tighten. "She didn't tell me that."

"I don't believe she wanted to worry you."

Jason's hand tightened comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Keisha's house was attacked the night I went over for dinner. And there was a cult member following her around until I kicked his ass."

Isaac's eyes widened. "Ria. You didn't tell me about the attack at Keisha's house."

She rolled her eyes. Like she was supposed to remember who was in the loop and who wasn't? Was that _really_ a part of the vampire hunter job description?

"You were kind of MIA at the time, Isaac," she said, snapping a bit more than she had intended.

"They're getting braver, reckless as well. This is not a good sign. They're almost ready for the spell," Alucard said.

"That's not all," Ria said.

She paused for a moment, wetting her lips. She had yet to share her dreams, the dreams of the past cult meetings, with anyone. But this moment seemed like an "all out" moment, so she opened her mouth to spill it all.

And paused again as her eyes caught sight of her uncle's hand. There, encircling his thumb, was a small tattoo—a circlet of thorns. Her eyes doubled in size as she yanked her shoulder away from his grip. Jason narrowed his gaze.

"Ria? What's wrong?"

"You," she muttered. "You _killed_ that girl. At the cult meeting."

Isaac's eyes flew to Jason, and he looked ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"How did you—No, that's not what hap—"

But she did not give her uncle a chance to finish. Heartbroken—how could she have fallen for _another_ trick, after Dracula?—she darted from the gym. She made it all the way to the end of the sidewalk—only ten or fifteen feet from the gym entrance—tears streaking down her face, before she remembered that she was not in her own vehicle. Running back to the manor was not an option at the moment. At a loss, she sat down at the edge of the sidewalk, sniffling into her hands. A few moments later, a shadow fell over her, and Ria did not even look up as Isaac took a seat beside her, wrapping an arm about her shoulder.

"What happened back there?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, Ria explained the whole thing. Isaac looked mildly shocked, finally shaking his head.

"I guess that damned half-blood was right. That spell _was_ a bad idea."

Ria laughed. "But still not worse than his 'let's summon Death' idea."

"Oh, no, of course not. I'm not topping that one anytime soon."

The two fell silent for a moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" Isaac asked.

Ria nodded, despite her gut feeling to sob a little more. "I think so. I just feel like an idiot. He's a cult member. I should go back in there and kick his ever-lovin' ass."

"Such colorful phrases you come up with. He and Alucard have left. They left when I came out here."

Ria arched a brow. "Alucard left _with_ him?"

Isaac nodded.

"Do you think they're in league with one another?"

Isaac sucked in a deep breath, looking skyward. "As much as this pains me to say it… no. I think the dhampire is exactly what he's appeared to be thus far. As for your uncle? If Alucard left without, well, kicking his ever-lovin' ass, as you put it, then I think there's more than what meets the eye here."

"It better be a whole hell of a lot more."

"Agreed."

Another silence. Finally, Ria playfully punched Isaac's arm.

"Thanks for coming out here to check on me."

"I'm in love with you. What else did you expect me to do?"

Isaac looked horrified for a moment, as if he was sure he had said the wrong thing. But Ria only laughed, nodding. He relaxed a good deal after that, even squeezing her into a small hug.

"Hey, shouldn't you be enjoying your dance? It really looks great in there," Isaac said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the gym.

Ria nodded. "Yeah, I guess I should."

The vampire hunter stood, about to say her good-bye to Isaac, when the devil forger stopped her. She looked down where he still sat on the sidewalk, his gaze focused straight ahead.

"Ria… who is that?" he said, pointing.

She followed his direction and found that it landed on Mr. Hamm, who was busy killing some poor student's good time by raking them over the coals for… something. Ria huffed.

"That's Mr. Hamm, my history teacher."

"No, it's not."

"Um, Isaac, I think I would know what my history teacher looks like as I see him almost every day."

Isaac stood, still shaking his head in protest.

"No," he drew out. "Do you remember that little gift I have? To see through glamours?"

She nodded, her back stiffening as if expecting an attack.

"Mr. Hamm, as you call him, is only a glamour. I see him as he truly is."

"Which is?"

A wry grin lit Isaac's face. "The Master Librarian."

* * *

End Notes: How was that? All the pieces are falling all around, now Ria just has to figure out how to put them in their place. I hope that that moment with Uncle Jason near the end there made sense, as well. And I have to apologize for the beginning of this chapter. I have a very bad habit of going in depth when it comes to describing clothes. I don't know why. I get really clear pictures of outfits in my head, and I just feel the need to share that picture with everyone else. Anyway, if you want a visual—sort of, definitely not of the entire outfit—I have a fanart I recently posted—which means it'll be in my featured section on my profile—at my deviantart account. You can follow the link at the bottom of my profile to see it. Also, that fun fact from last time? Yeah, I got the squirrel thing from a demotivational poster that asked "Ever wonder what squirrels do when you're not looking?" Or something to that effect. Anyhow, please review!


	20. The Devil and the Deep Crimson Sea

A/N- 120 reviews! Woo! Thanks so much to all of you for your continued reading and reviewing. To keep you updated: I recently got a job, but I haven't started it yet. Gotta finish the required paperwork and stuff past the "you're hired" part and all that. I'm still trying to find a stable place to live—hard to do with zero money, you know? My fiancé is the top of his class and lovin' it. I've been busy editing the proofs of several stories I've gotten published. And I still have one of those due. I also am participating in a fall contest/writing group that's being hosted on the forum of one of the publisher's I've been accepted by. Oh, and I've signed up for NaNoWriMo—doing original fiction this year, trying to use the time to get one of my various novel ideas written; Wishlist 2011—more on this below; and 50 States of SPN—again, more on this below. I'm trying to work faster on Trials—without it suffering—but with all that going on, it's not easy. But I intend to keep working on it during NaNo. Anyway, I plan to do a more in depth blog post on all that sometime soon, so you can go to my profile and go to my Life, the Trishverse, and Everything link.

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Chapter 19- Between the Devil and the Deep Crimson Sea

Ria took a giant drink of her too hot coffee, relishing the searing burn it made in her mouth and throat, all the way down to her stomach. She sighed, resting her forehead in her hand like she had the world's most massive hangover—as if the dance she had attended the night before had been some huge rave-keg-thing instead of a harmless Halloween dance hosted by her school. Her eyes were glued to the wooden table she sat at in the café, and she heard the sound of a wrapper of some sort scraping across the surface before she saw the single pack of pain relievers. She grinned, tore into the packaging—using the little slit, of course—and tossed them back with her coffee. She grimaced a moment later as she realized that the pills had been "cool burst" and that that particular flavor of mint did _not_ go well with her drink.

"So, the Old Man is disguising himself as your history teacher," Alucard—again, in his Genya guise—said from across the table.

Ria's eyes flew up to the dhampire, but she said nothing. From her right, Isaac leaned around, one brow arched.

"Are you all right, Ria?" he asked.

"Didn't sleep well," she answered.

In truth, that translated to "didn't sleep _much_." She had fallen asleep… but only for an hour or so. She had been awakened soon after by her cell phone going off—Alucard, requesting that she meet him in the café as soon as it opened. Isaac had opted to drive since she was so obviously dead on her feet, and Sara—although she was staying quiet at the moment—was right along with them as Ria had chosen to carry the Vampire Killer with her. Alucard had already had a table for them when they had arrived.

"I wished to discuss our next course of action with you last night, but after the incident with your uncle, and with you storming out of the dance, I found the option rather difficult," Alucard snapped.

A table full of people who were oh-so-obviously not morning people. Ria felt sorry for any of the staff that might try to come and serve them.

"Well, it's kind of heart-wrenching to find out that your uncle—an uncle you've only connected with recently—is a member of the same cult that's been trying to kill you!" Ria all but snarled back.

Isaac looked like Christmas had come early. However, Alucard only shook his head.

"_Used_ to be a member."

Of course. Ria had forgotten. One of the first things Alucard had informed her of that morning: he had known about Jason's so-called "former" involvement with the cult.

"How can I trust that? I mean, obviously, you both were keeping it from me."

The dhampire inclined his head. "True. But has he made any attempts on your life? Have I?"

"How do we know he wasn't one of the robed members who attacked Keisha's house?" Isaac interjected.

He had a point, but something about that did not feel right to Ria. Her hand slipped inside her large purse, feeling the whip there. A moment later, Sara was standing opposite Isaac and was smiling sadly at her.

"I'm here, Ria," her trainer said.

It just made Ria feel better to have her trainer—and Isaac—backing her. So, emboldened, she locked eyes with Alucard.

"Why didn't you tell me about Uncle Jason then?"

"It wasn't my secret to disclose."

"You didn't think that the fact that Jason is—_was_, whatever—a member of the cult of Osiris was a need-to-know factoid?"

"Have you considered, Adriana, asking Jason himself about what transpired in his youth?"

Ria sat back, her lips pursed. She hated it when the dhampire used her full name. It reminded her too much of her father when Jared would do the same, and it made her stomach feel like she had swallowed a large stone. Closing her eyes, she sighed.

"Fine. Let's go back to the problem of my history teacher—my pain in the ass history teacher—being the man we've been looking for. Where do we go from here?"

"As was mentioned, the Librarian is known for spending his time outside Castlevania in disguise. One that he's adamant about keeping," Alucard said.

"So just asking him is out of the question?" Ria huffed.

"Afraid so."

"Just can't ever be easy," she grumbled.

"He cares for nothing but his money and his treasures. I imagine forcing him to reveal himself will be as difficult as getting him to purchase a sword," Alucard explained, a small smile playing about his lips.

"So how do you get someone to reveal their glamour? I mean, when Dracula disguised himself as you, I could see him once I knew it was him."

"Only because he dropped it," Sara explained, followed shortly by Isaac saying the same.

Ria rolled her eyes. She was getting tired of these little, teensy complications that kept cropping up all around her. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, willing her pain medication to work.

"So what do we do? A spell?"

"Exactly," Isaac said, puffing his chest out.

One of his sly grins was plastered his face as he shot a quick glance at a glowering Alucard.

"I can see if I know a spell to make someone forcibly drop their glamour."

"You mean kind of like Lupin did in the third Harry Potter book?" Ria asked.

Three sets of eyes turned to her, and she shook her head.

"Never mind. That sounds like a good plan, Isaac."

With a nod, the former forge master stood, tossing the payment for his coffee—and Ria's, she noticed after a moment—onto the table.

"I've got a couple of old, old friends who might be able to help point me in the right direction. I'll meet you back at the manor, Ria."

She smiled at him, and he was gone. She turned and shared a look with Sara—who looked like she was lost in thought herself. Ria stood, adding a few dollars for a tip to the amount Isaac had left.

"I think I ought to get home too. I came home after Mom had gone to bed, and I left before she got up. I think she'd like to see me, you know, just to make sure I'm there," Ria said.

She got two steps away from the table before Alucard's hand came to grasp her—gently—at the crook of her arm. His touch was chilled—even through her long sleeved shirt, and it made goosebumps rise on her arms and legs. Ria turned to stare at him, noticing that Sara had vanished. His blue eyes seemed to freeze her just like as his touch did as he gazed into her similarly colored eyes.

"Has Isaac told you how he feels about you, Ria?" he asked, his voice even lower than usual.

She wanted to pull away, to tell him that it was not any of his business. Or even play dumb. But a hot blush spread over her face, and Alucard released her arm, nodding.

"I thought as much. You must be careful, Ria. He may seem harmless now, but this isn't true. Isaac Laforeze is a cruel man who left all he knew behind for power and for service of my father. He killed, and he maimed with little thought. And when his fellow forgemaster, Hector, left Dracula's service, Isaac sought vengeance on him by seeing his beloved burnt at the stake for the crime of witchcraft."

This seemed to be Ria's year for revelations. An even bigger revelation to her—other than what Isaac had done to this Hector—was that she was not surprised, or angry. She shook her head, crossing her arms.

"I'm not an idiot. I know what he was, believe me. Do you think that we just started off as friends?"

"'Friends' is not what Isaac wants to be for you. You must understand, Ria. Much like the Master Librarian, he cared for no one and nothing but himself and his master."

"And he left that master… for me," Ria said.

Her heart and stomach were making strange movements now. Ones she was sure they had never done before, but they were not bad movements. In a strange way, they made her feel lighter than air.

Alucard sighed. "Be sure of that, Adriana."

There he went, sounding like her father again. She huffed.

"What do you care what Isaac's plans are for me?"

He smiled. Not a grin, not that ghost of a smile that he did most often, but a true smile… one that seemed to hold some secret knowledge in it. It was sort of endearing.

"I just feel as if I should be concerned for you."

Ria blinked, grinning herself. Shaking her head, she added, softening her tone, "Look… even if Isaac had some nefarious plan… I still have the blood bond. He can't harm me with it."

"Ah," the dhampire said with a laugh. "That is true. You seemed to be a very wise young woman, Miss Smith. I hope you stay that way."

A very different kind of blush colored her cheeks. She nodded and muttered something incoherently. She suddenly felt better than she had in days, and, as quickly as she could without seeming obvious, she darted from the café to her car.

Once she was on the road to the manor, Sara appeared, a brow arched at her friend.

"That was unusual," the ghostly woman commented.

"I'd say so. Are you all right, Sara? You've been quieter than usual," Ria asked, noting that she had not caught any of the lights.

Sara shook her head, lifting a delicate hand to her forehead. Ria's brow furrowed. To be honest, in all her vampire hunting experience, she had not come across many ghost. But she was pretty sure that ghosts did not have headaches. Then again, Sara was not exactly a normal ghost.

"It's like there is something pressing in on me, Ria," Sara moaned. "I can't explain it, but something terrible is happening right now. Something mystical and terrible. And it's powerful, if it's affecting me."

"Are you in pain?" Ria asked, pulling into the manor's driveway.

She made no move to turn the car off, instead shifting it into park and leaving it there. Sara turned and smiled at her trainee.

"I'm dead, Ria. Pain isn't really something I feel anymore. Not physically, anyway."

"But this—whatever it is—it's bothering you?"

"I'm not in pain," Sara repeated. "It's closer to… imagine having someone talking to you, but you can't understand what they're saying nor can you see where they're at. What I'm feeling is like that."

Ria could not help but grin as Sara suddenly shook her head.

"Not funny, Ria. Trust me, what I'm feeling is _nothing_ like you seeing me."

A small wave of guilt washed over Ria as she finally turned her car off. Sara smiled at her for a brief moment, just before saying that she was vanishing for a little bit. Ria did not argue. Whatever was going on, it was really bothering her whip-bound friend. Sara needed her rest.

Ria got out of her car, purse under arm, and entered the manor. She called for her mother, getting an answer of, "In the kitchen." Ria followed Sophy's voice, coming to a dead stop in the doorway.

Jason sat beside Sophy, both of them with a steaming mug of coffee between their hands, and Ria felt her hand twitch. She took a single step forward, her hand sliding inside of her bag for the Vampire Killer. However, before she could make any sort of move, Sophy motioned for her to stop.

"Hear him out," she said.

"But, Mom!"

Sophy shook her head, her face stern. "He told me about what happened at the dance last night. He wants a chance to explain it all to you. I think you should let him do that."

Ria crossed her arms, lightly biting her bottom lip. Finally, she huffed, rolled her eyes, and said, "Fine. Want to explain to me how you killed a girl? How you are a member of the cult that's out to kill me and unleash Hell?"

Jason ran a hand through his long, dark hair and sighed.

"_Former_ member," he corrected. "It was my teenage rebellion."

Ria's arms dropped limply to her sides. "Your 'teenage rebellion'? Killing a girl was a _teenage rebellion_?"

Jason lifted his hands, shaking his head. "I misspoke. What I meant to say was, I wanted to be a vampire hunter. Like you are. Like Sophy was supposed to be."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ria snapped.

"I wanted the power of the whip… to do good things. But it rejected me. Your grandparents tried and tried to give it to me, but each time, it refused. I wasn't the one meant to wield it."

Ria didn't say anything. She just stared, waiting for him to continue. With another sigh, he did.

"I was your age. Maybe a little older. And I was angry. I met these guys one night in town, some of them older than me and some the same age. They said they were the member of a club. A special club. They said they could do things that normal people couldn't. They asked if I wanted to join. I said yes."

Ria felt her anger melt, just a little bit. This sounded all too familiar. Like something she had heard not too long ago in her life. Something Isaac had said. And something she had understood. And then it hit her.

"Power. You wanted power. Power to do something, anything, beyond your means," she said.

Jason smiled sadly. "Exactly."

"Still," Ria said, putting some snap back into her voice. "A cult is a stupid idea."

"Wish you had been there to tell me that then. Anyway, the girl. I don't know how you know about that. But this is what happened: I was a full-fledged member then. We had performed several spells, done a lot of different things. But then our leader stumbled across a spell. The biggest we had ever performed. It was supposed to be _exactly_ what Galamoth wanted. I showed up, like every other cult meeting, at the designated location. And then the spell began."

"I've seen the spell," Ria deadpanned. "You can skip the details."

Jason looked a little bewildered by that statement, but he continued.

"I watched as the Cult Leader stepped forward and lifted that dagger. I watched him plunge it in. But just moments before he did so—the same moment I realized what he intended for that girl I had never seen before—I stuck my foot out."

"You _tripped_ him?"

Ria was more than a little incredulous. Jason huffed out a hollow laugh.

"Yeah. Of all the things. But that's all I could think to do. He missed her heart. And missed her lung, but only by a hair. I rushed the alter, grabbed her up, and made it out of the site. I got her to a hospital, and the doctors saved her."

"They were sacrificing her," Ria said as if it had never hit her before.

Jason nodded. "It was more than I had bargained for. I was just a kid, Ria. You have to understand. I was angry, and I was stupid. I had no idea what I was getting into. When I knew that they were going to kill her… I freaked, but I knew I had to get her out of there."

Ria nodded. "And why should I believe any of this?"

"Because he called me from the hospital that night," Sophy put in.

Ria's eyes doubled in size. "What? You knew about this too?"

Sophy smiled. "Why do you think I was so understanding about all your secrets that you spilled to me a few nights ago? I've been keeping a few myself. But Jason called me, in tears, and told me everything that night. What he's saying is true."

Ria threw her hands into the air, turning in pointless circles before she stopped to stare at both her mother and uncle.

"When the hell are people going to realize that the _vampire_ _hunter_ kind of needs to know this stuff!"

Sophy giggled, stifling it quickly and returning to her solemn face. Jason's smile was a little less sad as he asked, "How did you know about the sacrificing anyhow? About that girl? About me?"

Ria sighed and filled her audience in on the spell with the coin found in the book. She added how it had been giving her dreams about a mysterious cult member—which she now, obviously, knew was her uncle. At the end, Jason shook his head.

"I remember shoving that damn coin in the first place I could find when I got home. I wanted it far away from me. I put it in one of your grandfather's books. I never remembered that that was the one."

Ria's brow furrowed. "What was that coin anyhow?"

"It was a sign to let the other cultist know that you were truly a servant of Galamoth."

"Fun."

Jason nodded. "You've got a point. So… am I forgiven? Do you trust me?"

Ria shuffled her feet a bit, glancing down at them. She looked up at her uncle from under her eyelashes, making her way over to the small kitchen table to sit across from the two adults.

"Yeah. I do. But that was a stupid way to rebel."

"I think we agree, then."

"Well, so long as you know that."

They both smiled brightly at one another, but their happy moment did not last much longer. A moment later, Sophy's evenly stern face fell, a deep frown curving her lips. Ria gave her attention to her. Sophy's eyes were watery, like she wanted nothing more in the world than to cry. Ria's heart stopped for just a moment. The last time she had seen that look had been when Jared had died.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

"Jason told me about Darren."

Ria's eyes, glaring, shot to Jason, but he lifted a hand.

"I did it gently. I did, I promise."

"He did," Sophy sighed, taking a deeper breath than what was necessary.

Ria nodded, reaching to clasp her mother's hand. "Are you okay?"

Sophy shrugged. "I don't know what I am right now."

In the distance, the manor's front door opened and shut. Ria took that to mean that Isaac was home, but did not call to him. Instead she sat there, in silence with her Uncle, comforting her mother.

"Want me to kick his ass?" Ria asked.

Sophy laughed. "No, dear. Besides, if it comes to that, I'd rather do it myself."

Ria had a good chuckle at that. A few moments of silence later, and Ria heard the phone ring. She made no move to answer, hearing Isaac do so after a couple of rings. He entered the kitchen, pausing—cautiously—in the doorway. He shook himself and crossed the room in a couple of steps, holding the cordless phone out to Sophy.

"It's for you," he said as she took it.

Isaac glanced at Ria, then to Jason, then back at Ria. She wanted so badly to laugh at the intense are-you-okay stare that he was giving her, but she only waved her hand dismissively.

"Hello?" Sophy said into the receiver. After a few moments, her voice dropped to a dull monotone. "Oh. Yes, what is it?"

There was a moment where only the distorted and muffled voice on the other end of the phone could be heard. Finally, Sophy's eyes widened.

"What? Yes. Of course, you don't have any other choice. Get them out of there! I'll look into as soon as possible. Yes. Yeah. Bye."

She hung up, stopping herself from slamming the phone down onto the table.

"Was that Darren?" Ria asked.

Sophy nodded. "Yeah. But he was the least of my problems in that conversation."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "He was?"

"No. The Throne was. It's _bleeding_. All over. And people were so sick that they were vomiting in the halls, unable to make it to the restroom in time. Darren had to shut down the museum."

Ria sat back in her chair, groaning. She shut her eyes. It took a second, but she finally opened them again to look up at Isaac.

"The damn Throne," she muttered. "Of course it has to get even stronger, just when we figured out a piece of the puzzle. Please, please, please tell me you found out something, Isaac."

"Actually," the crimson-haired devil forger said, "I did. I found just the spell we're looking for, but I think we'll need a bit of a plan to execute it."

Ria whirled so that she was fully facing him, smiling. "A plan to execute? Now _that_ we can do!"

* * *

End Notes: I hope that everyone enjoyed that! Sorry about all the talking. I promise, action will come back. Seriously. Not joking. Of course, *looks at outline* not until chapter after next. Still a little more talk to be had. But next chapter answers a minor question I've been hinting at throughout the entire fic, and a major one. So, until then! Please review! Oh, and as of this being posted, I have none of my NaNo novel outlined. Pray for me, lol.

Fun Fact: The title of this chapter comes from the phrase "between the devil and the deep blue sea." The devil was the longest seam in wooden ships, and when it had to be caulked, a sailor was placed in a bo'sun's chair to do so, between the ship and the sea—a very dangerous place to be especially if the ship was underway. The "crimson" switch I made was, I hope, obvious.

**Wishlist 2011**: This is a fanfiction challenge. Sadly, sign-ups for it are now closed, but you can still prompt. What you do is go to Livejournal, click on a participating person, read their post on what they will and won't write for Wishlist, and prompt them. I'm accepted up to 12 prompts, and now I'm full. Then, starting on Dec. 1st, I start posting ficlets based on the prompts I was given—though some of mine might become chapter-length fics, but I'm trying to avoid this. You can even prompt anonymously.

**50 States of SPN**: Another fanfiction challenge I'm taking part in on LiveJournal. If you're a fan of the TV series Supernatural, then head on over, because there's still plenty of room! What you do is you comment and choose one of the 50 states of the United States (some have been closed to choosing, but not many). Then, using a legend, a rumor, the food, anything, write a story that sets the Winchester Boys on a hunt in that state! I managed to get in on both rounds of sign-up so I've got two states: Alabama and Alaska. If you're interested in this one, I don't have a link for it on my profile, but I'd be happy to PM you a link, or email you one.


	21. Something to Go Right

A/N- I apologize for the long wait. Originally, I intended to knock this chapter out about a week or so after the last one. As we can all see… that didn't happen. I've started my new job, and it's going great! Since I've learned to run everything that a clerk would need to know—and I applied putting "open" for all of my hours—I tend to get called in if they need an extra hand. So I've been getting some good hours (something I really need). Let's see… Oh! I've moved living locations, my car—the one my fiancé and I share—is broken down, and I'm way, way behind on all of my writing. Fanfiction, NaNoWriMo, Wishlist, and 50 States of SPN. Oh, btw, **Fan of Games**, the answers to your questions in your review (since you have your PM off and I couldn't find an email) will be down below the End Notes. But enough about all that! On with the chapter!

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Chapter 20- Something to Go Right

Ria had a plan. It was a sound plan, and one that required not only herself, Isaac, and Alucard, but also Keisha—for an extra pair of hands. She had let Keisha in on it from the moment the two had met that morning in the school parking lot. She had seemed a little wary, but after a decisive nod, Keisha let Ria know that she had her back.

The spell Isaac had found was all they would need to force the Master Librarian out into the open, but they could not risk doing so during school hours—and no one knew where he lived on the weekend—forcing them to wait until Monday anyway. The thought that grumpy Mr. Hamm AKA Master Librarian was living on school property made Ria more than a little uncomfortable, so she pushed that thought aside. But despite the great pleasure Ria was receiving by simply _thinking_ about what was going to happen, she and Keisha still had to make their way through their normal school day—which meant suffering through Hamm's class.

The pompous twit was huffing and puffing around the front of the room, glaring at the students like he had a ferret stuck up his rear end. Ria was not paying enough attention to know exactly what they were studying today—American history, that was all she knew. The young huntress kept shooting knowing looks over to Keisha, some of them more questioning than others. She hated bringing Keisha in on this part of her life anymore than what was necessary, but Keisha had already protested with that too well-known phrase, "What are friends for?"

Sara stood in the aisle between the two girls, her ghostly eyes trained on Hamm. She shook her head and, not for the first time that day, muttered, "I just can't believe it."

She had not been the first to voice her disbelief. Alucard had seemed very amused by the idea that Ria's portly history teacher was the Master Librarian, while Isaac seemed just as baffled as Sara. It left Ria wondering what exactly this man was going to look like after his glamour was dropped. Propping her head in her hand, she blew a quiet sigh out of her nose and lost the rest of the class time to imagining just that. She had scoured the Belmont Journals the night before, but no clear description of the man existed. Something about that did not sit too well with Ria.

The ringing of the bell rocked Ria out of her thoughts, and her eyes flew open much wider than necessary. The scrapes of desks and chairs—and the sound of Hamm's voice rising above the noise to deliver last minute homework—filled the room as Ria and Keisha sat as still as possible. Their classmates jostled by without a thought, squeezing out of the door as fast as possible. Ria shared a look with her ghostly mentor, who nodded once. Ria then mimicked the nod to Keisha, and the two—three—of them approached the front of the room. It was only them and Mr. Hamm now.

He was erasing the board, his stomach brushing the very bottom of it as he reached up as high as he could get to clear the top notes. Ria's brow furrowed. Why would he write so high when he knew he could barely reach it? She shook her head, banishing the useless thought. Keisha eyed her, waiting for her to make the first move. This was all foreign territory to Ria, but she put on a confident smile. No reason to make Keisha nervous. She took a step forward and set her books down harder than necessary on the podium separating her from Hamm.

The teacher whirled, running a hand over his non-existent hair. He had looked genuinely worried for a moment, but that passed. He placed his customary smirk on his lips, lifting a sarcastic brow in her direction.

"Ah, Miss Smith. You are aware of what the ringing of those infernal bells mean?"

The second bell rang just then, leaving Ria with her mouth partially open like an idiot. She sighed.

Isaac and Alucard had said they would only need a few moments. Just long enough to ensure that no students would really notice them entering. Ria and Keisha only had to keep Hamm busy for a few minutes. The ringing ended.

"I do know what the bells mean, _sir_. However, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me."

His eyes seemed to simultaneously light up with excitement and dim with suspicion. Keisha stepped forward, setting her textbook down beside Ria's.

"Yes, we wanted to know more about the crossing of the Delaware that George Washington made," she elaborated.

And a good thing too. Hamm had looked like he was about to question Ria's interests, and she would have been in some real hot water then. She had completely blanked. But now, she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean, what was the big deal?"

"The big deal?" Hamm huffed indignantly. "I do believe I covered what _the big deal_ was in class, had you been paying any attention."

He put his back to them, going back to the board as Keisha elbowed Ria in the ribs. She mouthed an apology, and Sara rolled her eyes.

"Never mind, Ria!" she said, pointing behind the girls. "They're here."

The classroom door opened and Isaac and Alucard stepped inside. They closed it quietly behind them, but Hamm turned in their direction nonetheless. His eyes widened as he seemed to puff up even more.

"What's the meaning of this? Who are the two of you?"

The imagine of a blowfish puffing up, pushing out its spines, entered Ria's mind as Isaac and Alucard—whose own glamour slipped away in a single step down an empty aisle of desks—made their way up to a clearly defensive Hamm. To his credit, the Librarian remained in his character, jumping back so hard that he collided with the board behind him, his eyes wide.

"How—?"

"Drop it," Ria said, carelessly tossing her textbook and bag—but holding onto the Vampire Killer—to the nearest desk. "The jig is up."

Keisha, Sara, and Isaac all turned toward her.

"Really?" Isaac smirked.

Ria shrugged, gesturing roughly to Hamm/the Master Librarian. Alucard took a few more steps forward, taking the lead.

"It's been a long time, old man," he said with a smile that suggested an inside joke. He dropped the smile as he added, "Time has not been kind to you."

Hamm shook his head. "What the hell are you talking about? Who are you people? Miss Smith, if this is your idea of a joke then I will have you _suspended_!"

Ria and Keisha rolled their eyes.

"It's not worth it," Keisha sighed.

"We know who you really are," Ria added.

But Hamm was not going to give up that easily. He shook his head, incredulous now with a hint of fear.

"You're insane, all of you."

"Cast the spell, Laforeze," Alucard ordered.

Ria half expected Isaac to quip back some sort of sarcastic remark, or at least to tell Alucard to kiss his ass. But he only nodded and began to chant in Latin. Instantly, the character was gone. Hamm allowed his face to contort, anger coloring his features as a yellow light began to gather all about him.

"No," he growled moments before he was swallowed by the light.

It was blinding as all but Sara shielded their eyes. The moment their vision returned, Hamm was no longer before them. Instead stood an old man dressed in long burgundy robes—with a matching, soft hat—with long, frizzled gray hair and beard. His eyes were a beady black, and his crow's feet were deep—not to mention the rest of the wrinkles on his weathered face.

"Congratulations on finding me out, Young Master Alucard," he said.

Ria was taken aback. Even his voice had changed into a higher one that, just for a second, made her want to groan. Beside her, Sara muttered something that might have sounded like "Rinaldo," but Ria could not be sure.

"Do you mean to do me harm?" the Master Librarian asked.

"No, old man. We need your help."

Now the Librarian crossed his arms, casting a slow gaze out of one of the numerous classroom windows to his right.

"I could assume what this help might be, but I'd prefer to be asked before I throw myself to the wolves."

"We need you to re-anchor the Throne so we can stop Galamoth," Ria explained.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "It's been many an age since I've been called forth to perform that particular task. I was known by a different name then."

Ria and Keisha exchanged a look, while Sara gasped. Ria dearly wanted to ask her friend what was so shocking, but, given the situation, it was just not possible.

"But… will you help us?" Ria asked of the Librarian.

The old man put a long, gnarled finger thoughtfully to this chin, glancing listlessly upward. He drew out a long "hmm" and sighed.

"Well, I'm not sure."

"Not sure?" Isaac asked.

"Well… re-anchoring the Throne is a very difficult task, considering the power I have to hide under it. Galamoth is not, as it is said these days, a pushover. Even with the help of a Belmont descendant, the son of Dracula, a former devil forgemaster, and—" he eyed Keisha, the light in his eyes suggesting that he knew something they did not, "—Miss Stone, it might not be enough. There's a very high chance that one or all of us might die. Now… _what_ could _possibly_ make me want to go through all that?"

Keisha's gaze hardened quicker than any of the others. She took a dangerous step forward, the heel of her stiletto making an especially loud _click_ on the floor as her finger jabbed in the direction of the Librarian's face.

"Are you… are you _asking_ us to pay you? To save the world?" she asked, disgusted.

He reached out and actually patted Keisha on the head.

"My dear, if I've learned anything over the many, many years I've been alive, it's this: nothing, if not for a price."

"What the hell? What kind of person are you?" Ria said, just barely keeping her voice underneath volumes that could be considered "yelling."

Alucard held up a hand to silence her, and she complied with a reluctant huff.

"Name your price. My company can wire any amount to any bank account you wish," the dhampire said.

The old man waved his hand dismissively. "Money is not the issue. I've found that, in this day and age, anyone can acquire money if you know the right routes to take. It's a wonderful time to be alive. No. What I require is of a greater, mystical value."

Ria shook her head, and she was sure that if she was a cartoon character that steam would be pouring out of her ears.

"You pathetic little man," she hissed. "The world's hanging in the balance. You have the power to help stop the potential deaths of millions, and you'd rather leave it all to a couple of kids, a blood-bonded ex-devil forger, and a half-blood vampire who's pretending to be a member of the Japanese government. All because there's some little something you want that we might not be able to get. If there was someone, _anyone_, else we could be going to… I'd kick your ass so freakin' hard right now!"

"Control yourself, Adriana," Alucard warned before turning back to the Librarian. "What is the item you seek?"

"Lightning, made solid. It is an object of immense power, and if divided correctly, even the smallest piece can make the most powerful of spells."

Ria groaned, turned, and took a seat in one of the front row desks. She rested her head in her hands, shaking it.

"Where are we going to find something like that?"

"It is an incredibly rare object. It doesn't happen that often, and as such, it is often coveted. I would not know of anyone who would possess one and be willing to part with it for any amount of money," Alucard explained, his usually even voice holding the tiniest note of despair in it.

For his part, the Librarian looked downright giddy at the fact that his request was so impossible.

"Um, I've got one," Isaac said.

All eyes fell to the crimson haired forgemaster.

"What?" Ria asked.

He shrugged. "I have one. The bidding was rising like crazy on it. But in light of the situation, I'll let it go for free. In exchange for him re-anchoring the Throne."

"How?" Alucard asked, a little bit more aggressively than necessary.

"How do all of you think I make any money? With my good looks?"

Ria stood, brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"I sell mystical objects to the highest bidder on the internet. As many of my—_ahem_—connections from my former life were immortal in some fashion or another, I can still obtain items that mystics of today can't. Well, can't without significant chance for personal harm. So, I have the lightning. You'll anchor the Throne?"

They all turned back to the Librarian, who looked fairly impressed.

"Huh," he said. "In light of the situation, then yes… I will re-anchor Dracula's Throne to Castlevania's ruins."

A quiet wave of victory passed over the group, and Ria took the first relaxed breath she had had in a very long time.

"Simply bring me the item at the time you wish me to re-anchor the Throne. But I'll warn you… I'd make this happen soon. Galamoth's followers have been after the Throne as well. They've just been… unsuccessful."

They all nodded.

"Is there anything you require for the anchoring spell?" Alucard asked.

"Only the person who is responsible for removing the Throne in the first place."

Sara, unbeknownst to anyone but Ria, turned.

"Ria, I know who that is. Sophy mentioned it while you were at school one day."

Ria nodded. "Yeah. Betcha I won't need three guesses to figure it out."

* * *

End Notes: So how was that? Kind of on the shorter end of my chapter lengths. Also, we finally know how Isaac gets money, lol. Yeah, I know, not the main issue, but a fun one. Once we hit five updates left on this story, I'll start doing my customary countdown in the end notes. Just to mention, Sara's little muttered word when she saw the Librarian in his true form was from a little theory my fiancé and I have. It's totally not important to this story, but it does shape my idea of the Librarian's character, so I worked it in. Oh, also, the "lightning made solid" thing was borrowed from an episode of Supernatural. Please review!

**Review Reply to Fan of Games**: Thank you so much for your review! I really love Nightwish, but I haven't heard that song. I'll have to give it a listen. As for the answer to your question, yes, I'll be posting those fics here. I tend to post my fics on multiple sites, so they'll appear here, on a website called Twisting the Hellmouth, and on my personal LiveJournal.


	22. Unholy Energizer Battery

A/N- Okay, so I intended to have this finished last year. *crickets* Yeah. And since my job gives me random hours, I've been hard pressed to work on all my writing stuff. However, I'm starting to get in a pseudo-rhythm, and after seeing how many updates I have left on this, I'm gonna try to finish this one up as soon as possible. So, enjoy!

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Chapter 21- Unholy Energizer Battery

No one wanted to be riding in the Rio. Ria knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Isaac was more than grumpy with the fact that he had been banished to the small backseat, his only company being Sara—who was visible only to the driver. His arms were crossed in a childish display of a temper, his eyes glaring out of his window. Alucard, who had claimed the front seat without a word, seemed a little uneasy at Ria's driving ability. More than once she was sure that she had heard the half-blood stomping on an imaginary brake—in fact, she _knew_ he had done this when she had reached over for her Greatest Hits of Billy Idol album. Sara placed a worried hand over her transparent chest when Ria almost ran a red light. She rolled her eyes, glad that Keisha had decided to head home instead of riding with her. She would have never let Ria forget the almost cartoonish awkwardness in the vehicle.

The young huntress gave a prayer of thanks as she rolled into the driveway at Belmont Manor, relieved for only a moment before another wave of tension rolled itself into a stone in her stomach. Apparently this was more than evident on her face as Isaac, after having crawled out of the backseat, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It has to be done, feelings hurt or no," he said.

In one of those rare moments, Alucard nodded. Sara appeared beside her, head cocked to one side as she pointed to the vehicle parked in front of Ria's.

"Jason's here," she said.

Ria's brow knitted as she and her little caravan entered the manor. She turned immediately into the living room, where the sound of soft sobbing filled her ears. Her pace quickened as she saw her mother hunched over on the couch. She had one hand covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking as her red-rimmed eyes poured tears. Beside her, Jason wrapped protective arms around his older sister. Ria's heart thudded hard against her chest. She had not seen Sophy this torn up since Jared had passed.

She cleared the small distance in a moment, sliding down next to her mother.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened?"

Sophy looked up, seeming to notice the new arrivals for the first time. A moment of embarrassment passed over her features as she wiped furiously at her eyes, sniffling.

"She broke it off with Darren," Jason explained for her.

Sophy forced a smile to her face, like she was trying to convince herself more than her audience of her next words.

"It was the right thing to do. He lied to me. He was just-just using me."

A chorus of "I'm sorry" filled the room, and Ria was sure she had even heard it from Alucard. She looked back, staring worriedly at Isaac. The look he returned was one of sad resolve, and Ria sighed.

"What did you say, Mom? Did you give a reason?"

Sophy shrugged. "I told him that I just wasn't as ready for a relationship as I thought."

She choked back a sob while Jason hugged her tighter. The stone in Ria's stomach grew as she thought back on how much she had distrusted Darren, on how uneasy she had been around him—even _before_ she had known his true intentions. Her mother had obviously cared very much for this man, and Ria had not even tried. It made what she had to do next all the more difficult.

"Is the Librarian on board?" Jason asked as Sophy nodded.

"Yeah, how did the reveal go?" she asked.

Ria pursed her lips, biting the bottom one for just a moment.

"He's on board. We just so happened to have what he wanted. Which, by the way, Mom, did you know that Isaac's running an online magic shop?"

Sophy's eyes widened as she shook her head.

"Stop changing the subject, Ria," Alucard chastised.

Ria sighed as Sophy arched a brow.

"What is it?"

"The Librarian isn't the only person we need for this."

"Who else could we _possibly_ need?" Jason asked.

Ria shot another look back at the dhampire and Isaac. Sara, standing right over her trainee, sighed. Ria knew what that meant.

"Mom, is Darren the one who found and moved the Throne to the museum?"

She watched as several different emotions, all conflicting, passed over Sophy's face. Finally, all her mother could do was nod. Ria groaned.

"Shit," Isaac muttered as all eyes fell to him.

"What is it?" Sophy asked.

"The spell that the Librarian has to do requires the person—or persons—that removed the Throne from its resting spot," the former forgemaster explained. With a shrug, he added, "In short, your ex-boyfriend."

Sophy took a breath like someone had just sucker-punched her, and Ria glared over at the forgemaster. However, when she turned back to her mother, Sophy only nodded.

"Okay," she said.

"And we must hurry," Alucard put in. "Galamoth is at work trying to reach the Throne, possibly even at this very moment."

An evil throne making everyone around it sick—not to mention threatening to throw the world into chaos—and an evil demon that wishes to rule Hell. Ria shook her head, rubbing her temples. Then, turning back to the dhampire, she arched a brow.

"That's something I'm a little unclear on," she said, crossing her arms. "Why would Galamoth be after the thing that can lock him back up, especially since it's indestructible?"

"The Throne is more than just the lock to Galamoth's prison. First and foremost, it is an item of unspeakable dark power. That's the reason it was used to anchor Galamoth in the first place," Alucard explained.

Isaac nodded, and Ria found herself getting more than a little uneasy. It was getting weird, having the two of them getting along so much. She never thought she'd think it, but she sort of wished they would have one of their quipping contests again. Just to break the tension.

"Any spell that's going to be used to open up Hell on Earth without triggering the Biblical Apocalypse takes dark energy on a scale barely imaginable. There's only a couple of things that can do that: Dracula's Throne and a certain ritual," Isaac put in.

Jason nodded. "And the ritual is much more time consuming, but it was the only choice for Galamoth followers for a long time since they could not touch Dracula's Throne."

"Galamoth will need all the power he can get, as he must do battle with Hell's strongest demons—and even Satan himself—in order to name himself its king," Alucard finished.

Ria's brow furrowed. "So the Throne's like what? An unholy Energizer battery?"

Isaac, Jason, and Alucard all exchanged a look. Finally, Isaac grinned.

"Something like that," he said.

"Okay," Ria said, standing. "Let's say that Galamoth has given up on the Throne, though. I mean, his followers are human, and we haven't really seen him clambering about downtown. The Throne's got to affect them too, which means they can't really get near it—like the rest of us. The only reason we're sort of okay around it—when last we tried—was because of the charms Alucard gave us. Uncle Jason, you said that they can also do a ritual to get what they want?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "But the ritual requires a _very_ specific type of human sacrif—"

Jason stopped as a heavy and very rapid pounding drew everyone's attention. Ria stood, jogging over to the front door of the manor as Keisha's voice—muffled—became clearer.

"Ria! Ria, help! Help, please!" she said through the pounding.

Ria threw open the door as Keisha and her father all but fell into the manor. Keisha was the first to recover her footing, grasping her friend by the arms.

"They're after us," Sgt. Stone managed to gasp through his heavy breathing.

"It's those cult guys, Ria," Keisha explained.

Ria glanced over her shoulder, not at all surprised to find Alucard, Isaac, Sara, and Jason standing over her. She turned back to Keisha.

"I don't get it. Why would they keep following you to get to me? I know they know where I live. They threw a frickin' rock through my window!"

Isaac snorted, "Lame, by the way."

Keisha did not have much time to respond as a war cry filled the front lawn of Belmont Manor. Ria shoved her friend and Sgt. Stone out of the way as four members of the Cult of Osiris—their hoods cleverly hiding their faces—charged towards the manor. Ria stepped out of the doorway just long enough to retrieve the Vampire Killer from her purse, instructing Keisha, her father, and Sophy to "stay here." Alucard, Isaac, and Jason were already entangled in a fight with the cult members—which left one for Ria.

She grinned at the man who brandished a flail at her. She shook her head as she unfurled the whip.

"Bad day for you," she said, striking out at him.

The whip landed with a _crack_ on the spot where the cult member had been standing. Her attacker had leapt deftly to the side while Ria charged down the few steps at her front door to challenge him further. She was careful, however, to make sure the entrance to the manor was blocked. These members were not getting into her home—not on her watch.

"We _will_ have the girl," a whiny voice snarled out from under the hood.

Ria had only a moment to ponder his wording—wasn't she "the girl" they were looking for?—before he lunged at her. She stepped nimbly to the side, lashing the leather whip out at him. It wound about his neck, and she pulled. He lost his balance, hitting the ground hard as Ria heard the sound of metal slicing flesh. Her eyes flew up to the scene around her as Alucard flicked specks of blood off his sword—where had _that_ come from?—a limp, robe-covered body at his feet. Disgusted, she turned toward Isaac.

"They're only human!" she called as the former forgemaster let his Chauve-Souris slice through the chest of his own attacker.

"And they'll kill _us_ without a thought!" Isaac said as the cult member bled out at his feet.

Ria did not have time to argue further. Her attacker had recovered and swung his flail at her. It caught her, just barely, in the arm, and she cried out. She struck with the whip again, catching his arm and whirling him about. Jason—having just finished his cult member off—leapt in and finished Ria's off as well. With a sickening _crack_, Jason twisted the man's neck and let the body fall. Ria felt like she was going to vomit.

"Not all monsters are supernatural, Adriana," Alucard noted coldly.

"They would have killed us all, Ria," Jason said, resting a hand on his niece's shoulder.

She shrugged it off. Isaac alone was the only one who did not attempt to comfort her, and she was grateful. Nothing anyone could say could have fixed what just happened. Ria was not an idiot. She knew that the route her friends had taken was the only one. But that did not make it any easier. After a moment, she looked up, catching the eyes of her mother, Sgt. Stone, and Keisha in the doorway. A fresh wave of guilt washed over her, but she pushed it aside as she straightened herself, looking up at Alucard.

"The cult member who fought me said they wanted 'the girl.' They weren't after me at all. They were after Keisha, and only Keisha," she said, turning to her friend.

Keisha's eyes were wide, and she seemed more than a little shaky at the thought that she had some direct connection to all of it. She shook her head.

"Why?" she asked.

Jason stepped forward, his eyes falling on Keisha's father.

"Was your wife a dark witch?"

"What? No!" Keisha shouted, turning to her father.

But Sgt. Stone would not meet his daughter's eyes. Finally, Keisha fell back against Sophy, who cradled her without a thought.

"She was? _Dad_?"

Stone sighed. Shaking his head, he said, "I didn't want you to know, Keish. Your mother, the woman I married, was a good person. But she got in too deep with her talents. Started messin' with powers that nobody should. It's what killed her."

"But… but I thought—"

"I never wanted you to know. I didn't want you to think she was some sort of… some sort of _demon_ for what she had done," Stone pleaded. Then, turning toward Jason, he asked, "How did you know? And what does that have to do with Keisha?"

"Galamoth requires a specific sacrifice for the ritual to open up Hell," Jason explained. "One who is both pure and tainted."

Those words brought the images of the dream Ria had had—the one that Jason had been a part of—to the forefront of her mind. She shook her head.

"What the hell does that even mean?" she asked.

"Keisha is the perfect candidate is what that means. She is pure because she is a good person, and—if I had to guess—a virgin," Jason explained.

Keisha blushed a deep shade of crimson that showed brightly on her mocha-colored skin. Ria elbowed her uncle as hard as she could muster in his ribs. He winced, and gave her a look that clearly asked, "what?" before he continued.

"However… she is tainted in the way that… well, I'm assuming we've all heard the phrase 'the sins of the father are visited upon the son'?"

Everyone nodded. Jason sighed.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, that holds true for the fairer sex as well. You're tainted, Keisha, because of the sins your mother. Some slates don't wipe clean no matter how hard you try."

Ria eyed the group around her before her gaze fell back on her uncle.

"So this attack means…?"

"It means that Galamoth is almost ready to perform the ritual."

All fell silent. Finally, Ria shook her head.

"To hell with this," she said, stomping into the foyer of the manor.

"Ria, what are you doing?" Sophy asked as her daughter grabbed up the phone.

"I'm tired of crap falling down all around us. I'm calling Darren over here. I'm ending this _now_."

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End Notes: Okay, a short chapter with a lot of talk and a smidgen of action. However, I promise that the next update—and I'll try to get to that much sooner than this one—will be quite interesting! Also, for anyone interested, I'm still working my way through the Wishlist and 50 States of Supernatural challenge, but I do have two Wishlist fics—"Never" and "He Can Fly (Repeat)!"—posted, as well as one of my two 50 States posted—my Alaska entry, "Frozen Solid." Also, not including this update, there are only 5 more updates left for Trials! So, please review!


	23. Darren Claps

A/N- Sorry for the long wait on the update. It's the same story as always, real life, other writing commitments… crap like that. Also, I'm still trying to finish up some of those other fanfiction writing commitments. On top of that, I've signed up for another fanfic writing thing—the Crossover Big Bang over on Livejournal. I'm doing the sequel to my Darkwing Duck/Buffy the Vampire Slayer story, The Building Blocks of Good and Evil, which will be called, The Devil You Don't Know. I really need to get started on that, haha. Of course, it doesn't help that I halfway, unofficially outlined a Darkwing Duck/Supernatural crossover that'll take place in the same universe but in between the two Buffy stories. I also have several other stories I've got lined up that I want to finish this year… well, that aside, here's the next chapter!

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Chapter 22- Darren Claps

The bodies on the lawn were gone by the time the doorbell rang. Ria had let Alucard and Isaac run that task, locking herself in the manor under the pretense of running over protection plans for Keisha. In all actuality, she did not want to know what they did with the bodies… or where they put them.

But now the entirety of their group—Sophy, Isaac, Alucard, Jason, Keisha, Sgt. Stone, Sara, and herself—were gathered in the manor's living room. When the sound of the bell reverberated about the home, Keisha nearly jumped a mile in the air. It saddened Ria to see her friend like that, so she spared a moment to give her a comforting pat on the arm before going to answer the door.

Darren blinked, obviously surprised to see Ria there instead of Sophy. He had been just as surprised to have received the telephone call from her as well. Ria rolled her eyes and resisted the strong urge to yank the man into the house. Instead, with gritted teeth, she side-stepped, gesturing toward the living room. Darren blinked, pausing a moment longer before he finally entered the manor.

"I was surprised you called," he said, continuing onward into the home. "I assume your mother told you—"

"That we broke up?" Sophy completed as he reached the threshold of the room.

Darren froze, and Ria stepped in behind him. It was a crazy moment, but she could almost see it in his eyes that running had been a serious consideration. All eyes in the room focused in on the good archaeologist, and all eyes were narrowed in glares. Darren did take a frightened step back—which looked more like a stumble—as he focused in on Sgt. Stone, who had the least severe look on his face.

"Ben? What… What's going on?"

Ben only shook his head, and Darren then turned his confusion to Sophy.

"Soph?"

Isaac grinned, looking like some jungle cat that had spotted its prey. He motioned to the lone empty chair—a recliner that had been turned to face the sofa.

"Take a seat, Darren."

"I don't understand. Why are you all here? I thought Ria said—"

"I lied," Ria said.

Darren sunk into the recliner as Ria moved to stand in front of him, arms crossed over her chest. Darren shook his head, and he suddenly registered that Jason was one of the people facing him. Jason gave a singular nod as Darren turned back to Sophy.

"Sophy, what has Jason told you?" he asked, a little crestfallen.

"Everything," she snipped.

"Yeah, we know everything. We know the real reason you were dating my mother, Darren," Ria said.

She paused for a breath, and Darren took the moment to explain himself, sensing that he might not have much more of an opportunity to do so.

"Look, my intentions were horrible, at first. But only at first! It was the last act of a desperate man, Sophy, I swear! I mean, I'm not the type of man to use people like that. But they were going to cancel my grant, and here you were, a real live member of the Belmont family. But I fell in love with you. I still love you. I'm so, so sorry."

Ria scoffed, shaking her head. "That's _so_ not why you're here."

Sophy, for her part, made absolutely no reaction to Darren's profession of love. Instead, she turned toward her brother, determinately _not_ staring at her colleague and former-boyfriend. Darren's eyes fell to Ria, one brow arched.

"I don't understand."

Ria laughed, shrugging. "Here's the thing. There's some stuff going on, big and dangerous stuff, that we actually—as much as I hate to admit—need your involvement in. My best friend is in mortal peril, not to mention the entire world. And I know that you have a keen interest in my family history. So, you want to know all there is to know about the Belmont clan? Here it is."

And Ria spared no detail. She started at the beginning, telling the entire story of her family line as she had learned through the entries in the journals. She was helped along by Alucard, Isaac, and Sara as she hit the parts concerning them, which helped add urgency to the tale. And when she arrived at the part concerning herself, she felt a little like she had just cracked open some internal diary.

"And now," she said to a shock-still Darren, "these cult members are after Keisha to use her as a sacrifice to open up the door to Hell and unleash it on Earth to be ruled by a giant demon who was only able to escape because _you_ removed the Throne from Castlevania's ruins."

There was a long moment of silence. All eyes rested on Darren Brown as he was obviously trying to deal with everything that had just been shared with him. His mouth was slightly slack, and his own eyes looked just a bit glazed as he seemed to have retreated deep within his own brain. Finally, he laughed. It was a loud laugh; the kind that showed that he had no idea how the people around him were going to react to it. He shook his head, standing.

"I guess I deserve that," he said, going serious once again. He locked eyes with Sophy, sighing. "What I did was awful. And I am truly sorry. So you making up that crazy story is completely justified. I'll go now."

"It's no trick, Dr. Brownton," Alucard stated as he stood.

Darren scoffed. "I don't even know why you're here, Mr. Arikado. What do you possibly have to do with all of this? Or Ben? Or Keisha? Was this all to make the joke work? I mean, am I suppose to believe that you're some hundreds year old half-vampire son of _Dracula_? And that Isaac is just as old, only that he died and was resurrected last summer? Or that Ria is the only one out of all of you that can see the ghost of one of her ancestors' deceased girlfriend?"

Ria and Alucard—who shoved a lock of his glamoured black hair over his shoulder—exchanged a glance. Then, with a grin, the glamour melted away. Standing there, dressed in the same black suit, was the blond-haired man Ria had not seen since that night in the graveyard. Darren leapt back, gasping. Again, Ria moved to stop any plans he might have had of running.

"Look, that's a crazy illusion, but that can be easily done with today's technology," he said, and Ria was not sure if he was trying to reason with them or himself.

"Ria, the Gallery," Sara said, stepping up behind her trainee. "It might be the only way to make him see the truth. Some people need a visual."

Ria pursed her lips. The glamour should have been enough, but Sara was right. Maybe seeing the evidence of her ancestors in their age-old portraits, as well as the rest of the trinkets that little room held, would made Darren see the truth in her story. But damn it all if she still did not want to show that bastard the Gallery.

"Fine," she said finally, as if the whole room had been in on her thoughts. "Darren, you want to see the Gallery room… then let's go to the Gallery room."

Isaac and Alucard—as well as Sara—fell into step behind her as she snatched Darren by the arm and dragged him out of the room. The others remained in the living room, which Ria was grateful for, since she really did not want to feel like a tour guide again. The situation was bad enough as it stood now.

She left her smaller group at the door, making a brief detour into the kitchen to grab the key to the room. When she returned, she shoved the small, ornate metal thing into the antique lock. She turned it once, glancing back at Darren before she opened the door. The archaeologist seemed to be practically salivating. It was all Ria could do not to smack him. After all the things he had just put her mother through, admitting to the real reason he first took an interest in her, and then hearing all that he had about the Belmont Clan's family history… he still only cared about satisfying his own stupid curiosity.

"Nothing you see in here is going to get you that damn grant," Ria said, giving the knob a rough turn and throwing open the door.

She had only said it to spite him, but it had only given him a small pause. As soon as the door opened to reveal the portrait-lined walls with the red velvet chairs and curtains, Darren immediately returned to his salivating. He all but ran through the door, utterly ignoring the fact that Alucard, Isaac, and Ria had been in his way. With a deep, semi-calming breath, Ria entered behind him, watching him run—like the proverbial kid in the candy store—to each portrait.

"Art really isn't my forte at all, but these are all ages old. They're all so remarkably preserved! Look! There's no discoloration at all!"

Darren continued his self-lecture as he hopped from portrait to portrait, leaning in to read each name plaque. Around the third or fourth painting to go with the names that Ria had spoken of, Darren was looking visibly uncomfortable. It looked as if his own skin was crawling, and he kept clearing his throat and shifting his shoulders.

Ria had barely entered the room, choosing to lean against the wall just beside the door. Alucard made his way to one of the velvet chairs and took a seat, crossing one leg ankle-over-knee. Isaac moved to stand with Ria, leaning over to her.

"Shouldn't you… I don't know… speak to him? Tell him a little more about the room to convince him? He's the only way we can re-anchor Galamoth," the former forgemaster whispered.

"I'm not holding this idiot's hand," Ria snapped. Shrugging, she added, "Besides, this place speaks for itself, I think."

"Still," Sara said, appearing opposite of Isaac, "it wouldn't hurt to push the point a little."

Ria groaned. "Give me a minute."

Her eyes focused back in on Darren, who was approaching the wall on which the Vampire Killer had previously hung. The plaque—the velvet back and the silver hooks looking a bit more polished now—was still there, as well as several other weapons—added later by Ria—necessary for vampire hunting. Potion bottles of Holy Water and crosses of all level of decoration were scattered about. There were even a few cloves of garlic lying about. He paused here, and Ria approached him from behind.

"That's where the Vampire Killer hung when I found it," she explained, nodding in the direction of the plaque.

She had no need to explain her wording. She had already told Darren about the Vampire Killer—something else she had not been particularly happy about. Now, still with her arms crossed, she stood staring up at the man, waiting for his response. He seemed to be in deep thought, his eyes locked on the plaque. No one in the room spoke for a very long time. Finally, he shook his head, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his khakis.

"This is all very impressive, Ria," he said.

"Adriana," she muttered.

He arched a brow at her. "What?"

"You used my mom to find out more about our family—screw falling in love with her later. We're not friends, and only friends call me Ria. It's Adriana."

She could almost feel Isaac's smug grin behind her, but she kept her glare focused on Darren. Darren drew in a deep breath, shrugging.

"Fine. This is all very impressive, Adriana, but it doesn't prove anything. Only that your entire family is crazy," he said, turning toward the Gallery's door. "I'm leaving."

Isaac took a single step, moving to block the door. Apparently, Darren was going to help them whether he wanted to or not. But Isaac only made it part of the way. Elsewhere in the house, the sound of glass breaking—lots of glass—sounded, followed by Sophy's cry of, "Ria!"

Alucard—being the half-vampire that he was—made it out of the room before Ria, but she was not too far behind, with Isaac and Darren trailing. They emerged in the foyer, where the source of the sounds made themselves easily known. Standing in the center of the small hall was Sophy, Sgt. Stone, Jason, and Keisha, and they were surrounded. Ria blinked, horrified that she had left the Vampire Killer in the living room. Several—ten at first count, fifteen at second—reanimated skeletons, their bones bleached an almost unnatural white, were rattling their bones, brandishing swords, maces, and axes at her family. Alucard and Isaac lost no time, their weapons appearing in their hands. They dove into the fray, and Ria noticed that her uncle had managed to acquire a knife from somewhere—the kitchen, maybe?—and was making good use of it.

"What the hell?" Darren cried as Ria shoved past.

She sprinted into the other room, dodging a swinging mace and kicking the offending skeleton's legs out from under him. Ria had dealt with these monsters before, during her trek through Castlevania. One on one, they were not all that impressive. But en masse like this? She _had_ to get to her whip.

Thankfully, she found it, untouched, on the table beside the couch. Hearing Sara screech, "Ria, hurry!" only made her move faster. She was back in the foyer in a blink, and she aimed for a skeleton who had managed to corner Sophy. With a well placed hit—right in the monster's sternum—the thing fell to pieces on the floor. Ria sent up a small prayer of thanks that at least these were not the blood covered variety—the ones that simply would _not_ die. For good measure, though, she ran over and scattered the bones from one another. She grabbed up the fallen sword from the now inanimate arm and shoved the hilt into her mother's hands.

"Start swinging. I have to get to Keisha… they're here for her," she ordered before jumping back into the fight.

More skeletons had arrived, and Ria took down three with too-easy hits before it occurred to her that she could not see her way to Sgt. Stone or Keisha. Panicked, she called out over the ruckus, "Keisha! Keisha, where are you?"

"Keisha!" Stone's voice rose to meet Ria's.

Her heart sunk, and she turned, finding that she could see Isaac knocking down a few attackers himself.

"They're here for her!" she shouted at the forgemaster, who had only a moment to send her a worried frown before he was on guard again.

This was insane, and it was in her _home_. A new anger, coupled with the worry for her unseen friend, fueled Ria, and with a loud cry she swung the whip out, taking out several of the skeleton's at once. She made her advances while she could, knowing she would not be landing hits like those again anytime soon.

"Keisha!" she called out again, ducking a sword, kicking down another skeleton, and pulling down another with the whip. "Keisha, answer me!"

Ria found herself back to back with Alucard, both swinging their weapons wildly.

"We have to keep them from Miss Stone," he said.

Ria rolled her eyes. Like she did not already know that? Out loud she managed only a grunt of assent. She and Alucard parted as an axe came down between them. Alucard took the skeleton's head as Ria made more headway into the crowd.

Surely they were coming to an end now? Had Galamoth really sent so many?

Silly questions that Ria feared she knew the answer to all too well.

"Ria, where are you?" Sophy cried all of a sudden.

Ria froze, her heart thudding against her chest. Her mother may be a Belmont by blood, but as far as she knew, she had no training in how to fight. She turned, finding Sophy amongst the trail of fallen monsters. She smiled to see that she was doing just fine holding her own—hell, it even looked like she was saving Darren's ass.

"I'm here, Mom!" she yelled.

"Just making sure," Sophy said, sounding like the breath was being knocked out of her.

"Hang on! We'll get these bastards out of here soon enough!"

Ria saw Sophy nod once, determined, as she managed to knock the head off her attacker. It was nice to know that she was safe, at least. Now, to find Keisha…

Ria found Sgt. Stone first, fighting hand-to-hand with the creatures, using them off one another. He had just managed to crack two skulls together by the time the young vampire huntress reached him. When he looked down at Ria, his eyes were full of nothing but rage and concern.

"I can't find Keisha," he said.

Ria felt sick, fearing the worst had happened. All around her she listened as bones clattered to the hardwood floor. She turned in place—the room finally clearing enough so she could do so. She could see Isaac, Alucard, Jason, and all the rest… all except Keisha.

"Ria!"

Keisha's screech cut through her like cold steel running down her spine. She whirled, following the noise to the direction of the dining room. All at once, the remaining skeletons turned with her, running past those in the foyer toward the noise. Stone, Ria, Isaac, Alucard, and Jason rushed off after them. They arrived a moment too late.

A group of them held Keisha as they leapt through the shattered windows. Keisha screeched out for help once again while Stone yelled after his daughter, trying to climb through the windows after her. But the skeletons moved with preternatural speed now, running up the street in the direction of Eternal Night. In a moment, they were gone from sight.

"Keisha! They have Keisha!" Stone said as Isaac and Jason pulled him back inside the Manor.

Sara appeared in the room just as Sophy and Darren entered.

"Keisha's gone?" Sophy asked, approaching Stone and laying a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Damn it!" Ria cried, throwing the Vampire Killer to the floor.

She whirled, finding Darren resting in the doorway of the dining room. His eyes were twice the size they were normally, and he looked as if he had just caught a glimpse into Hell itself. Ria took two steps, stopping close enough to Darren to make his focus fall on her.

"W-what the hell?" he repeated, his eyes begging for her to offer a sane—saner—answer than the obvious.

"If you're not in with us to re-anchor that damn Throne to the ruins, then what you just saw will be a day at the beach compared to what Galamoth intends to unleash."

He did not speak, and Ria waited a moment for her words to sink in. When he seemed to finally realize the truth, she shook her head.

"Believe now?"

When he managed a weak nod, she sighed. "Good."

She turned to Alucard then, moving to pick the whip off the floor.

"Call the Librarian," she said as she coiled it up. "Tell him to meet us in front of the museum in an hour. Isaac, get that whatever the hell it is that he wants. We're getting this over with before they can even _think_ to lay a hand on Keisha. Time's up."

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End Notes: Elaborating on the above author's notes, I (also) signed up for the Supernatural Big Bang Crossover… so I'll be writing that DW/SPN, which I'm calling Duckpocalypse Now. Oh, and fun fact, midway through the fight scene, Lady Gaga's "Teeth" started playing. My Media Player is on shuffle, so this was truly random. Love when stuff like that happens, lol. Also, can anyone guess what inspired the chapter title? Cookie to those who do! Anyhow, so what will become of Keisha? And what does Ria plan for the museum? How will Sgt. Stone react to this? Will Sophy ever forgive Darren? Find out next chapter!

**Number of Updates Left Until Completion:** 4


	24. Teen, Vampire Hunter, Cat Burglar

A/N- Thanks for all the great reviews for that last chapter! Things are heating up for our heroes, and the outlook for the future isn't too great. Meanwhile, back in writer-world, I'm still working on several challenges and original fiction writing… Lewis Black—and you can find this on youtube—compares writing a book to homework that never ends. Yeah, I'll say that's accurate, haha. And points to Dezo for guessing the inspiration for last chapter's title. Well, there's the next chapter!

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Chapter 23- Teen, Vampire Hunter, Cat Burglar

"This is crazy, Ria," Isaac said, shaking his head. "You can't be seriously saying you want to do this."

The group had gathered back within the living room of Belmont Manor. Sophy sat on one end of the sofa while Darren sat on the opposite end, the two of them separated by Alucard. Isaac leaned against the room's threshold, and Sgt. Stone stood with Ria, facing the group.

"She's right. This is the only way," the military man said, resting a tense hand on the young vampire hunter's shoulder.

"You can't be expecting to just waltz into the museum and take the Throne. There are security measures in place," Darren said, quiet but confident in his words. Almost like he was not entirely sure he had the right to speak.

The look Sophy shot in his direction made him visibly flinch, but she eventually shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Darren's… got a point. You're talking about committing a major crime," she said.

Ria shook her head, her eyes resting on the image of Sara standing beside Sophy, wringing her hands together.

"Please, Ria," Sara said, shaking her head. "_Please_, just listen to your mother."

"Look, crazy or not, it's the only way. I mean, we _have_ to get the Throne back to the ruins to trap Galamoth. As for the security of the museum, that's why Darren will come with Alucard, Isaac, and myself. We all know that this was how it had to happen," Ria protested.

"I'm going too, of course," Sara huffed.

Ria nodded her head and made no verbal response.

"But you also have to weaken Galamoth for the binding to work," Isaac pointed out, pushing himself off of the wall. "We don't even know where he's hiding."

Stone narrowed his eyes, staring down at Ria. "Is that true? You have no idea where this monster has taken my Keisha?"

"Bumbling as his followers are, the Cults of Osiris and Anubis _have_ been careful not to give away their master's lair," Alucard said.

The proverbial lightbulb went off above Ria's head. She grinned, the type of sneaky grin that one does when they might have discovered a way to beat the ever-faceless System.

"They haven't been _entirely_ careful," Ria said, whirling on her heel. "Wait here!"

She shouted the last part over her shoulder like she had expected the entire group to follow her up the stairs to her bedroom—which was silly. She reached the second floor landing, bolting down the hall and into her bedroom. She reached for the old shoebox beneath her bed, pulling it out and removing the odd, ornamented rock Keisha and she had seen the cult member drop when he had followed Keisha to school. Ria was back downstairs in a flash, shoving the rock into the center of attention.

"One of the cult members dropped this. Isaac didn't recognize it as a mystical object when I showed it to him… but it could be a clue to where Galamoth is at."

"It's not mystical," Darren said, standing and snatching the rock from Ria's hand.

He held it close to one eye, pulling it back and examining it from all angles. Turning so that he faced everyone, he announced, a somewhat smug grin on his face, "This is a piece of the ornamental stone circle that graced the door of the Cathedral of Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite. It looks like it was broken… no, not broken… the edges are too precise for that. It looks like this piece was deliberately removed from the whole in just this way. Like a key."

"Wait… go back," Ria said, holding up both hands. "St. Dionysius the Aeropagite?"

"Patron saint against the devil," Alucard said, standing. "A group of villagers, many years ago, that lived near Castlevania formed the Cathedral in hopes of holding my father at bay with only the power of prayer. It worked… for a time."

"A cathedral," Ria muttered, taking the broken ornament back from Darren.

Like a long lost dream, the image of a truck full of pews assaulted her mind, followed immediately by the echo-y words of Death.

"…_when Galamoth is in his truest form on this Earth, he stands higher than… well, a cathedral ceiling_."

"Son of a…" Ria muttered. "He knew. Death knew all along where Galamoth was hiding!"

"Death?" Sophy asked.

Ria paid her mother no mind as Sara, Isaac, and Alucard all approached her, each with their eyes wide. They had all realized the truth in her words, and Alucard—especially—looked rather pissed at this.

He turned away, his hair slapping Ria a little in the face, as he glowered at Darren.

"Ria is correct. We now have Galamoth's location, and the only way to weaken him is to put a vampire hunter up against him."

"And having a ghostly companion, a former Devil Forgemaster, and the half-blood son of Dracula along to help can't hurt," Isaac grinned.

Ria was just surprised he had even bothered to reference Alucard. Darren, meanwhile, blinked up at the dhampire. Obviously, he was left wondering why the hell Alucard looked so angry with him.

"Ria is also correct in that we need Darren to help us obtain my father's Throne. We'll go at nightfall. I'll contact the librarian immediately."

Alucard left without any protest, and Sgt. Stone punched the air, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Hell yeah!" he shouted. "Let's get those sons of bitches that took my little girl!"

Ria's brow furrowed as she exchanged some quick glances with Sara and Isaac. Both were in complete, if silent, agreement.

"Sgt. Stone, you're not coming," the young huntress said as resolute as possible.

Stone actually blinked at her.

"What? The hell I'm not."

Sophy stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "As much as I understand how you feel… Ria's right. Fighting monsters… it's different than fighting a person, or people. Ria can do this."

She gave her daughter a small smile, and Ria's heart soared, simply knowing she had her mother's faith. Stone shrugged off the hand, pacing up and down the space of a foot or two before halting before Ria. He pointed a shaking finger at the girl.

"No. No, I'm not staying behind. You're just a kid. You're just a kid, and they have Keisha. They have _Keisha_."

"She's just a kid who's had the experience of rescuing her mother, killing the vampire who kidnapped her mother, and killing Dracula. Not to mention fighting Death and several other monsters on her way to killing Walter and Dracula. She also is the kid who befriended a lost soul, turning him from monster to human when no one else could," Isaac said, putting himself between Ria and the grieving father.

Ria smiled, gently prying Isaac away.

"Sgt. Stone, you've seen me fight. You know that Keisha is my best friend. I screwed up bringing her into all this. I'll get her back. I promise."

Stone shook his head, a strangled noise coming out before his next words.

"And what am I supposed to do? _Wait_?"

"They might come back. I'll need someone here just in case, to watch over my mom. Will you do that for me?" Ria asked.

If Sophy, who had not backed down in the face of her attackers, showed any offense to suddenly being a woman in need of protection, she made no mention of it. Instead, she simply stood back, letting Ria take the lead.

"Why would they come back? They got what they wanted."

"They could come back for Ria," Jason said, entered from upstairs.

Ria jumped, feeling more than a little bad that she had not even noticed her uncle leave the room. In his hands, he carried a large tome, open to somewhere in the middle, and he passed it off to Isaac, continuing his statement to Stone.

"Ria's a descendant of the Belmont Clan, one of the few credible clans of vampire hunters left. If they have any sort of brain at all, they'll try to stop her before she can stop them."

Sophy shook her head, and Stone nodded.

"Fine," he agreed, taking a seat on the couch. "Fine."

"Where did you go?" Sophy asked, and Ria was relieved that she had beaten her to the question.

"We're not going to pull off stealing the Throne without a little magic. As soon as I knew that was going to be Ria's plan, I went upstairs to gather some spells out of Isaac's collection. Since Galamoth's abandoned the hope of gathering the Throne—since, frankly, his followers dropped the ball on that one—our only obstacle will be the Throne itself."

"You're coming with us?" Ria asked.

Jason flashed his niece a grin. "Why wouldn't I?"

Isaac huffed. "A full party. That'll be inconspicuous."

Ria rolled her eyes. "We'll just have you magick the cameras again."

"Again?" Sophy questioned.

Ria chose to ignore her mother once more.

"This is great. All we have to do is make sure that Alucard has contacted the librarian and we're set."

"Not exactly," Jason said, flipping listlessly through his tome.

"What do you mean?" Ria groaned. "What now?"

"The Throne's strong. Stronger than when you probably last encountered it. I'm guessing that's why Galamoth has dropped his quest for it, going for the slightly more difficult spell route to his plan. It'll be difficult to be anywhere near it… maybe impossible."

The front door of Belmont Manor sounded, and Alucard reentered the room, flipping his cell phone closed.

"The librarian has arranged to meet us, requesting that we have the item he wants ready."

Isaac nodded. "I'll go get it."

He left the room, and Ria turned back to her uncle.

"But Alucard gave us some charms. Won't they help?"

Jason shrugged. "Maybe. If they help at all, it might just to take the edge off."

Stone looked up from his place on the couch. "So, what now? You can't go after this Throne that you need?"

Ria shook her head. "Problem or not, it's what we have to do. We're going after it."

Isaac returned, handing the item—a little hesitantly—to Alucard. The dhampire took it, storing it away somewhere within his suit's jacket. Ria nodded then.

"Do we know exactly where this cathedral is, or am I going to have to Google it?" she asked.

Alucard graced the group with a small grin. "I know of its location."

"Then what are we waiting for? The sun's setting. Let's go."

Ria hugged her mother and reiterated her promise to bring Keisha home safely. All but dragging Darren along, the rather ragtag group of hunters piled into Ria's now laughably small Rio and headed for the museum. The ride seemed to last longer than normal, and Ria could have sworn that she was in the vehicle long enough to actually witness the sun's slow descent into the horizon. Her Rio—the poor, small car—was making an odd whining, grinding noise that Isaac noted, colorfully, sounded like someone had put their foot onto a running toy car. Ria was too tense to wonder where he would have heard such a thing.

Finally, careful to park her car a decent distance away, the group arrived at the museum. Ria touched the Vampire Killer—attached to a her belt by a loop—and Sara appeared before her.

"Go see where the cameras we need are at, please," she asked, and Darren lifted a brow at Ria.

"Who-?" but Isaac nudged him before he could complete the thought.

"Um, Ria, hate to be a bother… but how the hell are we transporting this Throne to Castlevania's ruins?" Jason asked.

Ria blinked, frozen for a moment. She had forgotten to plan for that… granted, she had really forgotten to plan any of this. But Alucard came to her rescue.

"We'll use one of the museum's trucks, taking it as far into the forest as we can. After all, that's how they had removed it. There will still be two stretches were the group of us will have to carry it."

Ria nodded, and Sara vanished. Upon her rather quick return, she relayed the locations of the cameras, which Ria quoted to Isaac. A few chants later, the group was entered the museum with little problem—thanks to Darren's pass card.

"This is not right," Darren hissed.

"We don't care, Darren," Isaac groaned.

It took a few moments, since everyone was wearing the charms Alucard had provided them with—even Darren had one now—but they were a mere one corridor into the museum when the effect of the Throne hit them. Ria moaned, and she felt her knees buckle. Isaac was at her side in a moment, and when Ria met his eyes, they were glassy and his forehead was covered in a glistening layer of sweat—visible even within the darkened museum.

Darren fell against a nearby wall, and Jason was swallowing hard every other minute or so. Alucard, alone, looked the least affected.

"What's going on?" Darren grunted.

"The Throne," Alucard answered. "We have to keep moving."

Ria nodded, accepting Isaac's assistance. The two leaned heavily on one another as they continued within the building. It got harder with each step simply to lift her foot, and she felt as if weights were being added to her shoulders the farther she went. Isaac stumbled as they turned the last corner, and the Throne came into view. Only Ria's grip on him kept him from hitting the floor. Easily, being this close to the hellish object was the most difficult thing so far. The evil that bore down upon the group—with even Alucard showing the effects now—was sickening, and it was everything Ria could do to hold down the contents of her stomach. She had not looked around to her group, but she could have sworn that she had heard someone retch earlier.

If this was what is was like to just be in the same room as the Throne, the thought of touching the thing… it made her want to run. But the flash of Keisha's face in her mind made Ria lurch forward, dragging Isaac with her.

"This damn thing isn't going to beat us," she said, gagging and feeling her bones rattle inside of her skin.

Alucard strode past her, taking down the velvet ropes around the ugly seat. He paused after he finished, leaning forward and drawing in a long breath.

"We have to hurry," he said, without turning.

"Can this kill us?" Darren croaked, like he had gone days without water.

"No," Alucard said, facing them now, eliciting a gasp from Ria, Jason, and Darren. "But I might."

Fangs were protruding over the dhampire's bottom lip, and his eyes were a fiery red. His skin was more ashen than usual—something Ria had not thought possible, and if she was not imagining things, his ears even seemed a little pointed.

Isaac all but threw Ria toward the Throne, following the action with the ever weakening Darren and Jason. With a deep breath, he followed.

"Hurry," the forgemaster ordered as the group, despite their best instincts, all laid hands on the Throne.

The effect was instantaneous. All but Alucard and Isaac fell to their knees—and Isaac had just barely managed to keep his footing. It felt like tendrils of fire, intertwined with electricity and the purest of evils, were coursing through Ria's veins. She felt her stomach flip, and land like a stone. She gagged, and in a moment she was sure she would be eternally ashamed of, she turned her head away from the group and vomited. Gasping, she almost released her grip on the arm of Throne, but something—a part of her stronger than she knew—kept them in place.

"Ria? Ria, are you all right?" Isaac asked.

From his place on the arm opposite her, he was shaking. Ria nodded.

"I'm going… I'm going to pass… out," Darren whispered.

Daring to take only a hand off now, Ria smacked the archaeologist up the backside of his head.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"Focus on that. Not what this thing is doing. We can _do_ this!"

"Where are we… taking this thing?" Jason asked, sounding like was about to mimic Ria's earlier action.

"Back door… trucks are there," Darren said, and he did sound a bit stronger.

Alucard nodded. "Lift and just keep moving… no matter what."

The group complied, and it was easily the most difficult thing, Ria was sure, that any one of them had had to do… ever. Ria felt whatever food that was left inside of her crawling up her throat again, but she swallowed it back down. Jason, once they had rounded the first corner, was not so lucky. He shouted, "Stop!"… Just seconds before he turned and vomited. Ria felt sorry for the janitors that would have to clean up after this amateur robbery.

They continued their trek after that, each member of the group groaning and moaning along the way. It seemed that even Alucard was getting hit hard now, sweat pouring down the dhampire's face as the glow of his eyes intensified.

"We're close!" Ria announced as she saw the double back doors.

Catching a second wind, they picked up their pace, bursting forward onto the loading deck with a gasp. The carried the Throne behind the nearest truck, and they set it down just long enough to get the ramp ready. Then, with great relief, they loaded it into the back. With a slam of the door, they all sighed. The effect was still strong, but it seemed like nothing now compared to touching the thing.

Ria leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees.

"And this isn't even the hard part," she bemoaned.

Darren shook his head. "So… am I done? Is my part over?"

"Not quite," replied a voice to the group's left.

Entering the docking bay was the much awaited librarian. His glamour was dropped, and Ria found that a relief. It would have been difficult to take whatever he would have had to say seriously as his "Mr. Hamm, the History Teacher" persona.

"I need your assistance in anchoring the Throne back to the ruins of Castlevania. And I trust that the lot of you remember your parts," the librarian said.

On that cue, Alucard produced the solid piece of lightning, depositing into the old man's waiting hand. The Master Librarian grinned, nodding.

"Excellent. If we all play our parts, then this shall go off without a hitch. Now, Darren, come with me."

"Wait… how do we know to trust this guy?" Darren protested.

Isaac and Ria exchanged a look. Then, in unison, they shoved the archaeologist toward the librarian, who placed a firm grasp on the man's shoulder.

"Where is Galamoth hidden?" the librarian asked.

"In the cathedral of Dionysius the Aeropagite," Ria responded.

"Good. I'll give you an hour, then I shall begin the spell. Pray that that is enough."

In a flash, the librarian—and Darren—were gone. Alucard turned toward Jason.

"I assume you know how to drive this thing?" he asked, gesturing to the truck.

"Yeah, cause I sure as hell can't," Ria added.

Jason smiled. "Sure can. Just like I know how to hotwire it."

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End Notes: Wow… so I apologize for the beginning of this chapter. It was full of issues…but I hope I smoothed them out in the course of writing this. And I hope that the suspense is building. Big fights coming up, I swear. Also, the waits on this… I promise I'm not doing that deliberately. Work is killing me, slowly. I'll try better next time. There's only 3 more updates left on this thing now! Hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	25. Epic Fail

A/N- Thanks so much for the reviews! Oh, and **Fan of Games**, I love that story idea! I might consider it… but I've already planned out two sequels to this one, the next story being called Tribulations. Also, as for the title of last chapter, I actually was just having fun imagining all the things Ria would use to describe herself if she could reveal her legacy to just anyone. Just a happy coincidence. This story is winding down… only two more updates after this one. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 24- Epic Fail

The truck did nothing to shield them—Alucard, Jason, Ria, and Isaac—from the Throne's effects. Ria felt every drop in the road, and every rock as they eased their way into Eternal Night. They managed to find the path the truck had taken when removing the Throne, and they followed it. Not a word passed between the four of them, squished shoulder-to-shoulder in the cabin of the vehicle. Ria supposed that several of them, herself included, were just trying not to vomit. For the longest time, all eyes simply stared straight on. Finally, Alucard pointed.

"The ruins of my father's castle begin here… there's a natural bridge over there. Stop the truck; it'll never make it across. We'll have to carry the Throne."

Ria felt her stomach lurch. The thought of laying hands on the evil object for a second time made her want to run in the opposite direction. But she steeled herself as Jason and Alucard exited out the driver's side door. She followed Isaac out of the passenger side, landing on the ground in a small crouch. By the time she and Isaac rounded the back of the truck, Alucard had already raised the hatch and lowered the ramp. With a deep breath, Ria marched up and came to a stop at the right-hand armrest of the Throne. Isaac positioned himself beside her, and his eyes seemed to trail on her before he looked across to where Alucard and Jason stood.

"Three count?" Jason asked, his hands hovering just over the armrest.

The others nodded, and on "three," four sets of hands descended on the ornamented seat. And Ria found herself surprised. It was bad, no doubt, but it was nothing like it had been back at the museum. She did not feel the wave of nausea she had felt the first time, rather like she had just had the wind knocked out of her—definitely more manageable. This must have shown in her eyes since Alucard graced her with a small grin.

"We're close to the ruins. The Throne senses it is close to its homeland. Once it is anchored, any and all effects it is having on the world at large will cease to be."

Ria nodded as the four of them maneuvered the Throne down the ramp and around the truck. They were basically following Alucard's lead as they came upon the natural bridge. Ria felt her legs shaking as she glanced over her shoulder. The small stretch of land that connected the ruins to the rest of the world was no wider than the cluster they had formed around the Throne… and the drop down… Ria was not one particularly afraid of heights, but the sight of the drop from the bridge to the water—which looked a little too shallow for her tastes—was making her a bit woozy. Her gaze snapped back to her uncle, and Isaac shook his head.

"Don't think about it," he said as they passed the halfway point.

Easy for him to say, but Ria only sucked in as much air as possible and continued moving.

"How far into the ruins do we have to carry this thing?" Jason asked.

"To the estimated location of the Throne Room," Alucard answered, only the merest hint of a strain in the dhampire's voice.

Sometimes, Alucard just made Ria sick, the effortless way he seemed to do things. She could almost understand Isaac's annoyance with him. A grimace formed on the teen's face as these thoughts crossed her mind, and suddenly, just before they were about to be stated aloud, Ria realized that that kind of attack was not her style.

"Damn Throne," she muttered as they cleared the bridge.

"Making you almost say things you would never?" Isaac asked.

She nodded. The former forgemaster laughed.

"Yeah, I almost called our _dear_ dhampire here a few choice words a second ago."

Alucard grinned again. "I assure you, Laforeze, nothing compared to what I almost spoke about you."

They were approaching the center of Castlevania's ruins, and what awaited them there had Ria unable to keep her thoughts to herself—through no fault of the Throne's.

"Son of a bitch!"

Standing there, clearly awaiting the Throne, was the Librarian and Darren. A stone pillar stood on the Librarian's left, a bronze bowl set atop it with a curling cloud of smoke leaking out of it. Darren had a sleeve of his sweater rolled up, wrapping a bandage over his left forearm. Ria's steps quickened, as did those of the rest carrying the throne, until they were finally able to deposit the damn thing onto the cursed ground.

"The hell are you doing here?" she asked.

The Librarian raised a gray, bushy brow. "Where else would I be to re-anchor the Throne?"

"B-but… why didn't you just take the Throne with you?" Ria demanded.

The Librarian laughed. "There were preparations to make. Besides, I will not touch the Master's Throne until it is absolutely necessary."

"Convenient excuse," Ria muttered, and Isaac laughed.

"Enough," Alucard said, turning his attention to the aging sorcerer. "Old Man, do we still have that hour?"

Sighing, he replied, "I suppose. But quickly. The sooner this is completely, the better we all will be."

"_Now_ am I done?" Darren whined, yanking down his sleeve, hissing as it made contact somewhere around the center of his bandage.

Ria rolled her eyes, and the Librarian shook his head.

"No. You are still a necessity. You are the only master of your blood, thus only your chants will work on it."

Darren glared at the old man. "Then what the hell do we even need _you_ for?"

"Because I'll take care of the rest. And mind your tongue, boy, before it gets cut out."

"Would be a shame to lose the chants, though, wouldn't it?" Darren shot back.

Ria stepped up and slapped the man up the backside of his head again.

"Shut. Up."

She stepped back to the approving glances of everyone else in the group. Darren rubbed the back of his head, and much to his own wisdom, took Ria's advice. Meanwhile, she turned to the Librarian.

"One hour to weaken Galamoth, right?" she asked.

"Yes. But take heed. That's not as easy as it may sound."

"Never is," she noted, turning Alucard. "Lead the way."

"There are dangers other than Galamoth in these woods," the dhampire said. "This forest has long been cursed to bear the presence of evil. Other creatures will bar our way."

Ria uncoiled the Vampire Killer from her waist, and Sara, as if on cue, appeared at her side. The trainer gave her pupil a confident grin.

"Let them try," the two said in unison.

"This way," Alucard said, his sword appearing in his hand, gleaming the moonlight that shone down through the opening in the canopy above them.

Isaac shook his head as the Chauve-Souris appeared in his hand. Jason, for his part, had a short sword in his hands now, and Ria had no idea where her uncle could have possibly gotten the item. He had not had it on their way in. She shrugged off the thought, figuring that Alucard had probably spared it. The four of them left the ruins by the natural bridge, making the large trek around the surrounding moat before heading into the woods behind them.

It was quiet at first, only the sound of crunching twigs and small branches under their feet, and the rustling of leaves as they were pushed out of the group's way. No one spoke, and they had formed a small circle as they tramped their way through the trees. Alucard led, slightly out of line with everyone else, Isaac and Ria followed behind the dhampire shoulder-to-shoulder, and Jason brought up the rear. Sara flickered in and out in any clearings of space she could find. And she was the one that heard it first.

"Ria, listen!" she said, holding out a hand in front of her young trainee.

Ria came to a stop, and echoed the warning her ghostly friend spoke. The group halted. There was no breeze, but the trees still rustled. Everyone gripped their weapons tighter as it sounded like the noise was drawing nearer and nearer. It was Alucard's keen eyes that spotted the source of the noise first.

"Skeletons," he hissed.

Breaking through the trees in front of them were at least two dozen reanimated skeletons, much like the ones that had attacked Belmont Manor. Ria grinned, stepping forward.

"Payback for attacking my home!" she shouted.

Her whip cracked out, connecting and breaking apart the nearest skeleton, and her companions lost no time joining in on the fray. Blades and the whip swung, knocking off heads, arms, and knees of the monsters. Ria ducked the swing of a rusted mace, kicking down another skeleton as Isaac, shouting for Ria to "look out," took out an approaching monster. The vampire huntress and the forgemaster locked eyes for a moment after that, and Ria felt her heart beat in a way she was sure it had never before. Isaac reached out a hand, yanking her back to her feet, and the two stood back to back as the onslaught continued.

"Push forward!" Alucard ordered.

Ria nodded, and the group began to move as one, swinging and kicking and pushing their way forward through the trees. It took several minutes, but eventually they gained a lead on the skeletons.

"We don't have time for this!" Jason said.

"Run!" Isaac shouted.

"Follow me!" Sara said.

Ria pulled ahead of Alucard, glancing over her shoulder at her group.

"Sara's leading me. Follow me!" she said.

No one argued. Pushing as hard as possible through tree limbs, Ria and the others pushed onward. Every so often, they would come to a stop as a random group of two or three skeletons would ambush them. They dispatched them easily enough, and they kept moving.

"Keep running, Ria," Sara said, lifting her translucent skirts as she moved. "I'm going ahead to see if we're coming any nearer to the cathedral."

Sara vanished before Ria could reply, and the young huntress rolled her eyes. Great, the last thing she needed was her guide to pull a Houdini. Ria glanced down at her watch, noting that at least thirty minutes had passed since they had left the ruins. Time was winding down, fast. She looked over her shoulder—the whole time, still running.

"Sara's gone ahead to—" but she was cut off by Isaac and Jason shouting, "Ria, look out!"

She whirled just in time to see a singular skeleton in her path, swinging its sword toward her head. She leapt back, just enough to avoid serious damage. But the tip of the blade still caught her cheek, making a diagonal cut down it. She cried out, shoving her free hand to her face as Isaac rushed forward. He stabbed out, taking the monster down easily. Alucard came to a stop at Ria's shoulder.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Just a scratch," she muttered as Isaac rushed back to her.

"Let me see," he ordered, pulling her hand away.

"We don't have time," she said.

"It'll scar if you don't let me heal it," Isaac said.

Before she could stop him, he began to chant. A light formed at the hand he had placed over her injured cheek, and she suddenly felt warm, like a blush. Just as he pulled away, Sara reappeared.

"It's just beyond this barrier of trees," she said, pointing behind her. "But you aren't going to like what you see."

Ria ran a hand over her cheek—now sans cut—as she relayed this message to the others. With a solemn silence, the four of them broke through the barrier.

"Oh, crap," Ria muttered.

The cathedral, remarkably intact, stood before them, with a high, high ceiling and large, ornate doors that rose nearly as tall as the ceiling. But between them and the cathedral stood an ill-kept graveyard… complete with staggering zombies.

Alucard shook his head. "If we intended to enter quietly, this might hinder our plans."

Isaac huffed. "You think so, dhampire?"

"They're chanting inside the church, Ria. That might cover the noise, but you know what it also means," Sara added, standing at the huntress's shoulder.

Ria relayed the message, and Jason nodded.

"We have to hurry," her uncle said. "If they've begun the chants, we don't have too much longer."

Isaac reached over, grabbing up Ria's left wrist.

"We've only thirty minutes before the Librarian begins his spell. Time is not on our side tonight."

Ria tightened her grip on the handle of the Vampire Killer. She cast a quick glance around at her companions and sighed.

"Then we're all in, I suppose."

It was not the grandest call to war, and they were not some strong army charging down a long, grassy hill. But Keisha was in danger, and her time—and theirs—was winding down. There could be no theatrics. Ria rushed ahead, lashing out with the whip at the first zombie she saw. The creature fell to pieces—literally—and burst into flames. This did not go unnoticed by the other shambling corpses.

She ducked under the swing of Isaac's Chauve-Souris, knocking the footing of another zombie out from underneath him. She embedded her sneaker in the creature's face, and it burst into flames like the other. The other zombies roared—some only able to manage low hisses—and rushed at them. The group split up, with Ria pushing herself as far as possible into the cemetery. She did not stop to check her teammates' positions, which was okay, since she had Sara in her ear.

"Alucard is quickly clearing the monsters away on your back left-side. Isaac has the back right-side, and Jason is getting whatever those two miss. Keep pushing ahead, Ria! The chanting is growing even louder!"

She was not wrong. It was so loud now that Ria could clearly make out the words being used, and they brought to the forefront of her mind the horrible dream of the girl being stabbed. That fate was creeping up on Keisha, like a spider descending on a fly. The chanting was so intense that Ria was certain no one could hear their arrival. And that was no small volume, as every zombie cried out as it turned to ash.

"She doesn't have long," Jason said, moving ahead to rest a hand on his niece's shoulder.

"Not too many more," Ria said, swinging the whip out to take down two of the walking dead at once.

The team had reassembled around each other, destroying the few remaining creatures. They lost no time from the killing of the last zombie to moving to the large, ornate doors of the cathedral. Ria shook her head at the size of them, her eyes narrowing on the large, stone decoration that hung in the place where both massive doors met. A single piece, jagged in the places that the stone the cult member had dropped was not, was missing. Isaac withdrew it from Lord-knows-wear, and Ria realized, in that short moment, that the disappearing trick that Alucard had been doing for his weapons—and Isaac for the Chauve-Souris—was one she really needed to learn. Would really save on purse-space.

"Figured we might need this," he said, stepping up the largely circular decoration.

"Wait," Jason said. "What's the game plan here? Are we just charging in?"

"I'm afraid that time prevents us from having a choice. We have precisely twelve minutes before the Master Librarian begins his spell. If we have not weakened Galamoth by the time that spell is completed—at the very least—then all hope is lost. We paid the old man for a one-time usage. And like a true, frugal businessman, the Librarian will do only that, unless compensated once more," Alucard explained.

"We'll scout the lay of the land," Ria said, "and then Alucard is right. It's do or…"

She ended her phrase with a shrug, a little bit unwilling to say the word "die" aloud at the moment. Jason mimicked her move, motioning for Isaac to continue. The former forgemaster lifted the piece above his head—Ria was certain that had she had the piece, she would not have been able to reach the more complete ornament—and shoved it into the missing space. A loud series of _thunks_ and _clicks_ sounded, and Ria readied her whip, sure that the cult members _must_ have heard. However, as Isaac and Alucard shoved their bodies against the large doors—which opened just enough for each person to slip in, single-file, not a soul turned to face them. And Ria, upon setting foot into the cathedral, knew why.

Inside, the chants were just deafening. The echo of the mostly empty space carried their words, hauntingly, about the room. Ria and her group ventured a little further into the former house of worship, hidden in the shadows by a balcony that stretched high, high above the already tall doors. Two large columns marked where the main aisle of the place began, and the four of them spilt into pairs—Alucard and Jason behind the pillar on the left, Ria and Isaac behind the pillar on the right. And all four peered into the room ahead.

Red robed cult members knelt before a stone altar, on which Keisha lay. She appeared unconscious as the chanting continued around her, her breathing even and deep. A velvet sheet of deep crimson covered her to just above her breasts, and she seemed to be unclothed underneath. Of all the things to be angry about at the moment, that just seemed to add fuel to Ria's flames. She almost stepped into the moonlight that lit the cathedral beyond the pillars until her eyes found the gold behind the altar. She had mistaken it for some sort of relief at first, but then she forced her eyes to follow the shape of it. And she balked.

The massive thing she had thought was an artist's gold relief was nothing more than an armored _shin_. She followed it up the bend of the knee, farther up the torso, to the horrible face of a monster. It was strangely bony and elongated, like a human mixed an animal she did not know. But it was brown, in a rotted way, like flesh and muscle was still clinging to it. All of the gold she could see appeared to be armor, up to an elaborate headdress. The thing also possessed a large scepter and wore a shendyt—blue and gold stripped—about its waist that extended to just above its knees.

"Galamoth," Alucard whispered over to her, as if Ria needed the explanation.

As if she was not already freaking out.

How was she ever, ever going to be able to defeat something like _that_?

Apparently her breathing had quickened or it showed on her face or something, since Isaac rested a hand on her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. He leaned down so that his lips were at her ear.

"We're here with you," he said.

"He's right," Sara said, appearing on Ria's other side.

Ria grinned and refocused on the scene before her. The chanting was growing even faster and louder now, and a particular cult member—the leader, evidently—was stepping forward. The blade of the dagger in his hand gleamed in the moonlight, and even though his hood covered his face, Ria could tell his eyes were locked on Keisha.

"Not a chance in hell," she muttered stepping out from behind the pillar. She followed it with a loud shout of, "Hey!"

All eyes turned to her as Isaac, Jason, and Alucard stepped out to stand with her.

"No one's gonna stick that thing in my best friend, unless they want to deal with _me_."

Galamoth sucked in a large breath, using what seemed to be his snout to sniff the air. A booming laugh circled the cathedral, and Ria fought the urge to cover her ears.

"Little Belmont," he hissed. "I heard your ancestors as they fought with my captor."

"And you should know that that never went well for Dracula. And, hey, wasn't he the one that kicked _your_ ass?" Ria taunted.

Galamoth growled.

"Kill her!" he roared.

A mass of red robed cult members seemed to simultaneously pull daggers and rush at the group. But that did nothing to shake Ria. After all, they were only human… a lot easier to dodge—since she, herself, did not intend to kill them—than most monsters. She ducked under the first two that made it close enough to attack, sending her whip out toward the next one. The end of the Vampire Killer wrapped around the man's throat, choking him for just a moment, before she yanked backwards. He tumbled to the floor, hitting his head just hard enough—she hoped—to lose consciousness. Behind her, she could hear that horrible, familiar sound of flesh being sliced and stabbed, and she half considered ordering her companions to try and leave the cult members alive. But after only a moment of thought—while lashing out at another attacking foe—she knew that it would be pointless. Bodies were falling behind her, just like at the manor, and she had expressed her distaste for the taking of human life there. It had done no good. Now, in this charged moment of do-or-die, there was no hope for pleading for these lost souls' lives. So Ria stuck to her moral grounds and tried her best to ignore her friends, blatantly uncaring about her reservations.

"Puny mortals," Galamoth boomed.

So commanding was the monster's voice that Ria almost looked up at him, as if to stop and listen to what he had to say. She could understand, in a very twisted way, why he would have such loyal followers. Thankfully, those followers were a little busy attacking Ria, which kept her from giving in to that tiny itch of complacency.

"You think you stand a chance against _me_? At my full _strength_? I'm not some ghoul locked away in the dregs of Dracula's castle anymore! I am restored! Behold the resolution of my worshippers!"

With that, the giant monster brought his staff up off the floor—several feet for the regular-sized people on the ground, but that probably just felt like an inch or so to him. He brought it slamming down, and the reverberations brought everyone's fighting to a halt. When the small earthquake caused by the action ceased, groans filled the cathedral. Ria dared a glance behind her.

The fallen cult members rose to their feet. No life lit their eyes, and Ria shook her head.

"Damn zombies," she swore, turning to strike another member—living—off his feet.

Galamoth roared with laughter. A crackling noise that sounded like that one time her television had gone on the fritz _bad_ caused Ria to cry out, "Watch out!"

She dove to her right, landing on the hard stone floor as a tendril of lightning struck the spot where she had stood. She glanced back, seeing that Galamoth had fried a couple of his own followers—and one of his zombie followers—and, most importantly, that her friends were safe.

"Nice shooting, Tex," she said, clambering back to her feet and pressing on.

Maybe it was not the greatest idea to tease and taunt the giant monster, but sometimes, things like that just slipped out.

Galamoth roared, and Ria was sure that at least one of her eardrums had burst. But she lashed out at another cult member—had there really been _this_ many around Keisha? A mass of red blocked her view of the altar, and Ria's heart was racing.

"You think you stand a chance against me? Do you? I am a god! I've been worshipped for ages! Anubis, they called me… Osiris, they prayed. I am not one, but two gods, demanding the worship of both of my cults! They wish to see me restored to my proper place in this world! And when I have been, I will see your disloyal hides burn in the hottest fires of Hell!"

Well, that explained the Egyptian motif, Ria thought as she wrapped her whip around one attacker, slamming him into another one. Both dropped like stones in water. She was getting closer to her destination… she was going to do it! Keisha was going to be fine!

"Foolish Belmont," Galamoth chuckled. "Do you think I share in your stupidity? My time has come!"

Two more cult members down, and Ria leapt over their bodies, ducking under another pair of attackers. Behind her, she listened as zombies groaned and flames roared upon their demise. But her focus remained on the target ahead. She lashed out at another cult member, catching him in the face. He grabbed at the wound she had inflicted and was easily pushed aside. Her heart swelled as she realized that only two more of the members stood in her path. She dodged them easily, knocking them together much she like she had done with the two earlier attackers. Free of the onslaught now, Ria focused her eyes in on the prize.

Her ears focused first though, and what she heard made her heart thud against her chest. She had not heard it over the clashes of the fight, but one cult member—the leader—had remained behind with Keisha… and he had kept up the chanting. Ria was free of attackers, but still several feet from the altar. The hood had fallen back on the leader, revealing him to be a rather average looking man. He had short, blond hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was a dark olive color, and he grinned out at Ria…

Just as he completed his chants and plunged the dagger into Keisha's heart.

* * *

End Notes: Okay, so, cliffy. I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to hear from all of you after this. We have only two more updates left on this one, and then it'll be onto the sequel, Tribulations. Honestly can't wait to hear from you. Meanwhile, I have a poll on my profile. You see, there's a couple of my older fanfics I'm thinking about removing… but I'm a bit indecisive over which two I should remove. If you could, drop by my poll and help me decide. You can pick up to four, and the two stories with the lowest votes by the end of this year are the two I'll remove. Otherwise, please review!

Fun Fact: From about the middle of this chapter on, I listened to the song "Seven Devils" from Florence and the Machine. Definitely the thing that set the tone for this one. Give it a listen some time!


	26. Hell Unleashed

A/N- Thanks for all the great reviews on that last chapter! We're winding down now, only this update and one more left. I'm so excited to show you all what's in store for Ria in the next story (yeah, spoiler, Ria survives. I mean, I've only mentioned the sequel a few times now, haven't I? And how can I have one without her?). But I'll talk more about the sequel in the end notes of the last update. For now, let's continue on!

* * *

Chapter 25- Hell Unleashed

Once, back when Ria was about six or seven years old, she had watched a puppy get hit by a car. Not just any puppy, but her new, beloved pet. She remembered rushing out into the street, not caring for the cars that had yet to stop, and coming to a skidding stop on her knees at her pet's head. She had not had a lot of experience with life and death then, but somehow, some basic human instant told her that her puppy was taking its last breaths.

She remembered the rabble around her. The driver apologizing over and over, saying she had not seen the dog. Ria's father running up to his daughter, moments away for chastising her for running into the road… and stopping short when he had seen the dog's condition. The driver offering to pay for the puppy's loss, which only made Ria sob even harder. And then, finally, the dog taking its last breath in Ria's arms.

That had been her first experience with death. She had, unquestionably, had many run-ins with it since then. Hell, a couple of times, she had even been directly responsible. But none of that felt like this.

Now, in the middle of the cold, abandoned cathedral of Dionysus the Aeropagite (patron saint against the devil, fat lot of help that was), Ria realized that she was sure she felt that knife pierce _her_ heart as well. She was helpless. Something that she had not been in quite some time. But there she was, standing flaccidly by as she watched her friend twitch and shudder, blood spilling out from her heart. The young huntress's mind flew back to that terrible image in the dream of this ritual. In a moment that seemed to last forever, Ria came crashing back to reality. There was no Uncle Jason this time, hidden among the followers to trip the cult leader. In fact, the only person that was standing over Keisha as she took her last breath—and Ria was sure her breath went with hers—was that stupid cult member and Galamoth.

Keisha's head lolled to her right side, her lifeless eyes falling to Ria's. In the back of Ria's mind, she was aware of the noise around her. The voices of her companions calling her to action. The sound of a portal ripping open somewhere to the right of the building. The roar of a new player on the field. But the only things she heard were the dull thud of her own heart and Galamoth's roaring laughter.

A new fire fueled Ria, and she dove forward, lashing out at the cult leader. The end of the Vampire Killer caught the man in the throat, sending him crashing to the floor. Ria was not sure if the blow had killed him or not… but at this moment, as she finally stood over her friend's body—ignoring how close in proximity Galamoth was to her now; how easily he could just stomp her out of existence once and for all—she found that she did not care about the cult member's fate. Ria's eyes filled with tears that spilled down her cheeks, leaning over Keisha.

This was her fault. She had promised Sgt. Stone that she would _save_ Keisha. And now she had failed. All that bravado… for nothing.

A roar filled the room, along with a bright light that was almost blinding. And Ria became suddenly aware of how strange it was that Galamoth seemed to be paying her no mind. Her eyes drifted upward—way upward—to see that Galamoth had his attention somewhere off to Ria's right. The young huntress turned as Sara appeared at Keisha's head.

"Ria. Oh, Ria, you have to focus!" her mentor pleaded.

There was a hole in the wall, but unlike the more usual holes, this one exuded light.

"Ria! Hell is unleashing its demons!" Alucard shouted over the whipping winds that circled the cathedral. "If _you_ defeat the first demon instead of Galamoth—the one who summoned it—the portal will close!"

Demon. Ria's head was foggy, and it seemed to replay this word over and over while she hunched, protectively, over her friend's body.

"Focus! It'll do Keisha no good now if you just give up!" Sara all but shrieked at her.

Sara's words seemed to do nothing to stir Ria. However, a large cloven foot landing on this side of the portal shocked her into focus. The creature that emerged was large—not anywhere near as large as Galamoth, but at least Ria's height and a half—and bright red. In fact, it reminded Ria, vaguely, of a monster she had seen in an old movie before, with ebony horns that curled upward, a pointed face in every sense of the phrase, and claws for hands. Its voice was deep and resonated about the cathedral.

"Who dares summon me?" it growled.

Galamoth was grinning, apparently convinced that this was going to be an easy fight. That anything smaller than he was going to be easy to squish. That he could just kill the thing and move on to the next challenge.

"Ria! Kill the demon!" Isaac shouted.

Kill the demon. Kill the demon. Weaken Galamoth. Ria's grip tightened on the Vampire Killer. She cast one look down at her friend, using her free hand to close Keisha's eyes.

If Hell was what Galamoth wanted, then Ria was going to make damned sure that that was the _last_ thing that monster got.

…

Darren chanted the words that were scrawled on the small scroll the Librarian had handed him. His instructions had been to simply chant until he reached the end of the page, then repeat it two times. He was midway through his second repeat.

Meanwhile, the Librarian was busy adding foul smelling things to the bowl that stood atop the stone pillar. He would chant a word or two with each new addition, but it was not as continuous as Darren's part. Finally, Darren completed his chanting, letting his hands fall limply to his sides.

"Is that it? Are we done? Is the monster gone?" he asked.

A wolf howled in the distance, and Darren jumped, stumbling back a couple of paces. The Librarian added another ingredient—with another chanted word—and sighed. He shook his head, taking a moment out of his spellcasting to stroke his long, salt and pepper beard.

"No. Galamoth is still too strong. And our spell is winding down. Miss Smith will have to hurry if there is to be any hope of this working."

Another howl in the distance. Darren did not fall back this time, but he still shivered.

"What if she can't do it? What if Ria can't weaken Galamoth?"

The old man gave a single chuckle, which sounded more like the last sound of a hopeless man rather than any note of mirth.

"Then we're done for."

…

It was a race, two against one. Sometimes, that rotated which two were against which one. Sometimes it was Ria and Galamoth holding the demon that had been birthed by the portal at bay. Other times, it was the demon and Galamoth trying their best to put Ria down. In the end, Ria was dealing blows both ways. She had gotten a couple of hits in on Galamoth, which seemed to do nothing but sting like a bee for all the reaction that he had. The demon had a bigger response to the Vampire Killer, with smoke rising up from any place the weapon collided. And it appeared that the demon's spear—an ebony and black weapon that made Isaac's spear look like a toy from Wal-Mart—had a greater effect on Galamoth's body. It left wide, gaping wounds wherever it struck, and Galamoth howled in agony each time the demon landed a blow. There was even a brief moment where Ria considered trying to relieve the demon of its weapon, just to use it against the larger monster. But she had no idea what kind of side effects that a demon's weapon could have on a human, so she quickly disregarded that.

Behind her, her friends were still dealing with the zombies that had been created from the fallen cult members, and it seemed like Galamoth had taken the time to summon more enemies for them to contend with. Ria had no idea when this had happened, but she kept her mind on the task at hand.

Galamoth shot out lightning from his staff, and Ria dove for cover. It struck the demon head on, but it did nothing but stun it for a moment before it let out another hellish roar. It dove forward. Right before it seemed as if it was going to crash into Galamoth's shin, it leapt, flying way up to Galamoth's head like something out of a martial arts movie. It buried its spear deep inside Galamoth's head, and he roared, yanking the demon off and hurling him back to the floor.

Ria took her chance. She charged out from her hiding place, striking out at the demon and dodging Galamoth when necessary. The spear in the cathedral-sized monster's head seemed to be slowing him more than what he thought possible. He attempted to shoot lightning at Ria as she continued to wail on both him and the demon—striking and dodging in turn—but it fizzled out before it could even leave the staff.

Galamoth fell back in the fight, deciding that it would be better to remove the spear that seemed to be the source of all of his trouble. Which was just fine for Ria. She would deal with him in a moment. The demon struck out with a clawed hand, and Ria rolled under the strike with only a hair's width to spare. When she was back on her feet, she saw that she had, in fact, had less than that to spare. A tear the width of her forearm had appeared in the front of her shirt, managing to just miss the tender flesh of her stomach.

"You're gonna pay for that, Big Red," she said.

The demon chuckled and beckoned her forward. The young vampire huntress took a deep breath, and in that moment, she tried her best to remember all of Sara's training. She could defeat this demon. She just had to think.

The monster was standing next to a thick stone pillar, which was only a few feet away from a pew that had somehow avoided destruction. Save for natural defenses, it was weaponless. It was large, and although fast for its height and width, it was still slower than Ria.

She grinned, remembering a morning not too long ago when Sara had taken her to train in Eternal Night. She held tightly to the Vampire Killer, and, starting low, she charged at the demon. It swung at her, but she dodged, leaping onto the back of the pew. She could see the confusion in the creature's eyes as she jumped from there to the pillar, pitching herself behind the monster. However, as she flew behind, she let her whip swing out, and she grasped the other end, pulling it taunt around the demon's neck.

It roared and flailed, but the whip burned through its crimson skin until, finally, its overlarge head came tumbling down at Ria's feet. The body fell forward. Another roar filled the cathedral, and Ria turned her gaze upward to see that Galamoth had managed to remove the spear, dropping it to the floor.

"You stupid child!" Galamoth raged.

He swung down, and Ria was not fast enough to move out of the way. The back of his massive hand caught her, carrying her a few feet—airborne—until she finally flew of her own momentum against one of the hard, hard stone walls of the cathedral. She slid down, dazed, into a slump on the floor.

She was aware of a chorus of people calling her name, but the wind had been knocked out of her. She inhaled as deeply as she could as soon as she could, trying to find her voice again. She lifted up, trying to turn onto her back when she became aware of a large shadow falling over her.

"Ria!" Isaac shouted, skidding over beside her.

It took a moment for her to register it all. Galamoth's foot was suspended over her, seconds away from squishing her like a fly on a windshield. But Isaac was with her now, with the Chauve-Souris held vertical. He shoved it upward, embedding it into Galamoth's foot. The monster roared as Isaac yanked his weapon back, and Galamoth all but fell against the opposite wall. Ria half expected the wall to give way under such a massive thing's weight, but it held. Kudos to the cathedral's architects.

Ria's gaze fell to her right, finding the crimson demon's discarded spear. She stood, grabbing both it and the Vampire Killer.

"It's over, Galamoth. I'm the one who killed that demon. Hell won't be set free tonight," Ria said, leaning just a tad onto Isaac. After all, crashing into a wall hurt.

"Foolish girl," Galamoth growled. "It has not even begun!"

Ria shot a look over at Isaac, indicating the spear in her hand. He nodded once, taking it from her. Galamoth dove forward, no doubt trying to crush them, but Isaac moved faster. He launched the spear overhead, embedding it into the monster's heart. Smoke curled up around the point of impact, and Galamoth howled as she stumbled back, again, against the wall.

A large roar filled the room, but it was not Galamoth's roar this time. Nor the roar of any other monster. A large portal, dark this time, was opening beneath Galamoth, and it was the roar of the winds it caused that filled the room.

"No!" he cried.

"How does it feel now, you son of a bitch! You've lost!" Ria cried over the winds.

They were picking up dangerously, to the point where Ria felt her feet slipping out from under her. But her eyes were on the altar that still held Keisha's body. And the body was sliding toward the portal.

Isaac's arms were around Ria now, holding her pressed against the pillar behind them. The pews were beginning to slide slowly, skidding, toward the hole.

"Keisha's body!" Ria screamed over the increasing winds.

Galamoth was roaring now, clawing at anything he could find. But it was no use. The winds were more powerful at their source, and he was right above that.

"Ria, hold tight!" Isaac ordered.

"I'm fine! Get her body! Please, Isaac!"

The former forgemaster locked eyes with her. After a long moment, he nodded, and let go. He flew almost instantly to the altar, wrapping an arm about Keisha's waist. He dragged her body down to the floor with him, holding on to the altar with only one free hand. Now Ria's heart thudded against her chest for another reason, afraid that she had sent Isaac to his death.

"Hold on, please!" she shouted, feeling the wind blow away the tears in her eyes before they could fall.

"No! No!" Galamoth roared as he sunk down into the hole. "Not again! No! I broke free once! I could do it again!"

Before he could cry any other threats out, he fell out of sight, and the gaping black hole closed over his head. The winds vanished instantly, and the sound of several bodies hitting the floor echoed about the cathedral. Ria was on her feet almost instantly, relieved to see that Isaac had not only held on, but he had Keisha's body as well.

Alucard and Jason were safe as well, both stumbling out into view. Most of the bodies of the cult members that had yet to rise were blown into the portal, along with the body of the demon Galamoth had raised. And whether he had been dead or merely unconscious, the body of the Cult Leader was gone as well.

Isaac stood, cradling Keisha's body—which was still modestly wrapped in the crimson sheet of fabric. Ria leaned back against the pillar as her friends approached her.

"We did it," Jason said quietly.

Sara appeared somewhere to Ria's left, and Ria found herself grateful that she had held on to the sacred weapon whether she had realized it or not.

"You defeated Galamoth, Ria," Alucard said. "I'm sure Keisha would have been happy that you saved the world. At any cost."

He was trying to make her feel better. Ria knew that. But in the end, all she could do was grimace.

"Yeah. Go me."

* * *

End Notes: A happy ending? Well, we're not quite at the ending yet. One more update so you all can read the epilogue. I'll fill in more information about the sequel, Tribulations, in that chapter's end notes—including that summary you asked for, **Fan of Games**. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, by the way. Action scenes tend to do that. I've just never been very comfortable with them, although I find them to be a necessary evil. Anyhow, please review and I'll work on getting that epilogue up ASAP!


	27. Epilogue

A/N- Ah, epilogue! Thanks for all those reviews last chapter! I can't wait to read your reactions to this one. As for the information on the sequel, that'll be in the End Notes. Also, I'm throwing in something a little extra after the End Notes as well. That being said, we'll move on!

* * *

A man said to the universe:

"Sir, I exist!"

"However," replied the universe,

"The fact has not created in me

a sense of obligation."

-"A Man Said to the Universe," Stephen Crane

* * *

Epilogue

It was a beautiful day, really. Crisp and cool, but sunny and bright. Not a cloud in sight as the group of mourners sat in their neatly rowed chairs, facing the closed casket that held Keisha Stone's body.

There were several people present that Ria did not recognize. Relatives and other friends of Keisha's. She knew some of them to be from class, but there were a few others she could not fathom where Keisha would have met them. Ria sat separate from them. She sat separate from her family—her mother, holding hands with _Darren_, of all people, sat in one of the back rows of chairs. Sergeant Stone sat on the very front row, on the very opposite end of where Ria sat, and the young huntress had made sure of that.

She had not faced Benjamin Stone since the night, just a handful ago, that she had brought his daughter's body home. Alucard had carried Keisha's body and had put it in Stone's arms. The man had fallen to his knees, sobbing. As heartbreaking as that had been, when Ria had stepped forward, ready to offer her apologies—weak though they were—on her failure, she had stopped short. Stone's eyes had locked on Ria's and the fire… the _anger_ in them had seared her down to her very soul. Ria had rounded Stone and sought refuge in her bedroom, tossing herself on her bed in tears.

Today was the first day she had left it. As much anger as Stone—rightfully, as Ria saw it—had, she was not going to miss the funeral of her best friend. The friend she had failed to save. The friend she had put in harm's way. Her fault. All her fault. The words circled her mind like a chorus of hooded grim reapers, bony hands pointing squarely at her.

Beside her, Isaac placed a hand on Ria's, gripping it firmly. She gazed up at him out from under her hair, but he was looking at the casket. Her lips tugged into a brief, sad smile. The minister was finishing his words, committing Keisha to the ground, but Ria could not watch the casket be lowered. Instead, she looked to her right and found herself quite surprised. Standing in the shadows of a nearby tree, stood Alucard in his Genya glamour. The shadows of the limbs—amazingly still covered with the orange, red, and yellow leaves of fall—obscured any chance of seeing the expression on his face. But something about having him there, knowing he had not left like Ria had supposed after that night, made her feel… "better" seemed too strong. So did "relieved." She could not find a word to cover it, but it was a good feeling, something she had not had in several hours.

The funeral was over. Guests were standing to leave, but Ria felt rooted to her chair. A crowd was forming on the opposite end of her row, were Stone sat, and Ria clasped her hands in her lap. It took a moment before she realized that she was gripping her hands so tightly that they were beginning to ache, but by that time, the crowd had thinned around Sgt. Stone. She was standing and moving toward him before she had even realized she had made the decision to do so. By the time the rest of the condolence-givers were thin enough for Ria to be seen by the military man, it was only Ria left.

She swallowed, hard, uncertain of what she had come over to say. Stone looked up at her, his expression a total blank, and Ria was not sure that that helped. Finally, before she could summon words, she summoned tears. They were streaming down her face, her breaths coming in hiccup-y sobs, and she was trying her best to talk around it all. Finally, Stone stood and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, gently shushing her.

"It's going to be okay. Maybe not right now. But they say time heals all wounds."

Clichés. That's all the two—the two who had known each other for only a matter of _days_—had to offer one another. Ria pushed herself out of his grasp slowly.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I tried. I was _there_. Right _there_! I saw it happen, and I couldn't… I couldn't—"

How could she make him see? How could he ever understand? She was not sure it was possible… or if it even mattered in the grand scheme of things. He had been the one to lose a daughter, a blood relative. She had only lost a friend. The only normal friend she had had in a long time. She could feel the tears threatening to waterfall again. However, before they could start, Stone put a hand on her shoulder.

"At first, I was angry. At you. At the world. At that monster. At the man that… that did _that_ to my Keisha," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the ever-lowering coffin.

Ria did a wet hiccup, followed by a deep sniffle. Stone shook his head.

"But then I realized. You're just a kid. Yes, I'm still angry. At that monster. At fate. But not at you. What happened with you? You being the one solely responsible for the state of the world? At sixteen? That's not fair. On an epic scale, as you kids tend to say now. You shouldn't have to feel like Keisha's death falls squarely on your shoulders. Because it doesn't. Destined monster hunter or not… they didn't come after her for you. And you're only a kid."

Ria let his words hit her, and they left her feeling numb. Just a kid. She was not sure if this made her feel better or worse. But knowing that Stone did not hate her? That did take off a little of the weight she felt over her heart. She wiped hastily at her eyes, trying her best to compose herself and come up with some last words of wisdom before the two of them parted.

"Well, at least I managed to kill the sons of bitches that did it," she said, a bit more savagely than she had intended.

So much for parting wisdom. But Sgt. Stone smiled, sighing. He patting Ria's shoulder.

"I can't bear to watch them put the dirt on her. Take care, Ria. And don't be a stranger."

And he was gone, walking the softly sloping terrain until he had exited the cemetery. The same cemetery they had summoned death in. The same cemetery that Ria trained in. And now the same cemetery she would visit Keisha in. Ria heard the soft thud of the coffin reaching the ground below, her eyes focused on the ground and lost in the dulling buzz that hovered around her brain now. She did not even register that her mother's black heels had entered her line of sight until Sophy gently shook her daughter.

"Ria? Are you all right?"

A ball of fury welled up inside of her, and she wanted to scream at her mother, to tell her what a completely idiotic question that was… that of course she was not "all right." But she quelled it, shaking her head. Sophy hugged her.

"I figured," she spoke softly into her daughter's hair.

"I tried," Ria said, feeling like she had said this a million times now, and that she still needed to say it a million more before she could ever be "all right."

"No one doubts that, Ria," Darren said, appearing over Sophy's shoulder.

Ria felt ill. She had no idea when this had happened… when Sophy had decided to grace that worthless, manipulative scum with a second chance. She sincerely hoped that it was just grief that had driven the two back together, and that as soon as they had nursed their wounds, they would part ways. Ria hated him. She wanted Sophy to have nothing to do with him. And she did nothing to hide it.

She shot Darren a glare, breaking the embrace with her mother. She shook her head, turning away from them.

"Why are you even here, Darren? You never wanted to help us anyway," she growled.

She could feel the hurt radiating off the archaeologist, and she almost punched him. Right there, in the middle of the cemetery. But she waited too long, and Sophy had taken his hand.

"He's just trying to help," she said so softly that it was almost a whisper.

Ria bit the inside of her lip, bringing her gaze to the man who had started all of this. The man stupid enough to drag a perfectly intact throne away from obviously ominous ruins. The man who had whined the whole way through the ritual process, young girl in danger or not.

Logically, she knew that Darren had not known it was Dracula's Throne, had not known that it would throw the world into chaos. And she knew he had only reacted as any other person suddenly faced with the supernatural would. But a part of her held on to the idea that maybe, just _maybe_, he did know. No matter how silly that notion was, it made hating him a little easier.

"Whatever," Ria sighed. "Mom, maybe you ought to take him away."

Not a statement that Sophy took a lightly. After all, Sophy Smith did not take orders from her daughter. But today, she knew not to push it. She slipped a hand under Darren's arm and nodded, pulling him away. Ria waited until Darren was well out of earshot before muttering something she was sure that, even today, Sophy would not have stood for.

"He's grieving as well, Ria."

She whirled, finding that Alucard—Genya—had emerged from his shadowy perch. She sighed.

"I know. But can't I do _something_ that makes me feel better?"

He smiled, shrugging. "Perhaps. So long as it's not too destructive."

Approval. Ria managed a laugh.

"So, where to next for the son of Dracula?"

All signs of humor left and his eyes drifted off in the direction of Sophy and Darren. Ria suddenly felt sadder than she had felt in days, enough to label it as "soul-crushing." When Alucard pulled his eyes back to her, he shrugged, and she found the incredibly human motion odd on him for some reason.

"I was stopping by in passing, truth be told. I wished to offer my condolences and well wishing. I must return to Japan to resume my place there. Many other supernatural problems to be attended to."

The sadness that permeated her now was different, and it was with a soft pang that Ria realized that she would miss the dhampire. Blinking, she tripped over her words for a moment.

"Will I ever see you again?" was the question she finally managed.

That soft smile again, the one that was almost a ghost of itself.

"I'm not sure. But, you do have my cellular number, should you need me."

Ria nodded. He rested a hand on her shoulder—like everyone seemed to be doing—and nodded.

"Farewell, Adriana."

"Ria. Remember? We're friends."

He grinned. "Of course."

With his departure, Ria found her way back to her seat. She was alone now, with all others having left the cemetery. She had left the Vampire Killer at home. It was the weapon that had failed her like it never had before, and she just could not have dealt with having it at Keisha's funeral. The downside to that was Sara was not with her, and Ria desperately felt her absence. She watched as they began the preparation to cover the open grave, and she shuddered. She knew she should not watch this. That, like Stone, she should have left. But she was glued to her seat, staring but not at the hole in the ground.

She was crying again, and it surprised her. After all the crying she had done over the past few days, she would have thought that she had no tears left to spare. But there they were, silently rolling down her cheeks as Isaac sank into the chair beside her.

"Oh," she gasped, "I thought you had left."

Isaac smiled. "I promised I wasn't going to leave you again, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Thank you."

He wrapped an arm about her shoulders, and she leaned into him. The two were silent for a long moment, simply listening to beat of each other's hearts and the rhythm of their breathing.

"It wasn't your fault," Isaac said finally.

"It was. I wasn't strong enough. But I thought I was. And that's the problem."

Isaac glanced down at her, pulling away to face her, a brow arched.

"You saved the world, Ria."

"It's not enough. It's never enough. I saved the world, but at what cost? My best friend's life? Is that what it'll always be? Because, if it is… I can't… I can't _do_ this!"

"Ria, it won't always be like this. This was… this was a tragic accident. Last year you saved not only your mother's life, but mine as well. You've proved you can do this. But this time it just wasn't meant to be."

He was so calm, and it sounded all so reasonable. Just a kid. Look what you did last time. Saved the world. Not your fault. All of it played against the negative. Should have been stronger. Should have been faster. Should have known what to do. Should have saved _her_.

"I feel like I'm losing control," Ria said, whirling in her seat to face the former forgemaster head on.

Without a second's hesitation, she reached out, wrapping her arms about his neck, and pulled his lips in to connect with hers. She deepened the kiss, not thinking a second about her inexperience or how strange it all felt or how new. Instead, she thought only of him, of feeling his hands gently grasp her waist, of feeling the heat rise in his skin. They broke apart, and he waited, patiently, for her to explain.

"I feel like I'm losing control," she repeated. "When I sent you after Keisha's body, it was only _after_, when it would have been too late, that I worried. I worried that you were going to slip into that portal. I worried that I was going to lose you too, and I can't lose you, Isaac, because I love you. I feel so stupid that it's taken me this long to figure that out, but I do, Isaac. I love you. I feel like I'm losing control over myself, and I need something to keep me grounded. To help make it all okay and make the stuff fate has decided to throw my way feel worthwhile again."

Isaac blinked, and he did not move for a moment. Finally, he took both her hands in both of his.

"I'll keep you grounded, Ria. Always."

They kissed again, briefly, as they turned their eyes back to Keisha's grave. Ria knew they should leave, but she just could not pull herself from her chair. So she sat there, with Isaac holding her tight—like she might slip away any moment—until the grave was completely covered.

* * *

End Notes: Sad Ria is… well, hard to write for. I mean, keeping her sad for an extended period, anyway. But sort of a happy ending, right? I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. As promised, the sequel will be called Tribulations. Now, like I did with the transition from Untested to Trials, I plan to put the prologue out for Tribulations ASAP, followed by a break to work on other things. But that way, you will all have a way to add the story to alerts without having to search for it. Now, like **Fan of Games**, asked, here's a working summary for Tribulations: "Things are different. And not good different. Ria, Isaac, and Sara have been noticing strange things about their lives that no one else seems to view as odd. When the source of the trouble is discovered, the solution seems as impossible as the situation itself. Ria has to travel back in time and fix what has got the timeline all out of sorts before the damage is irreparable." Pardon the rough wording, I'll try to suss it out before I get that prologue posted. Anyhow, thanks for sticking with me through another story, and I hope to see you at the sequel!

Author's Musings: So, I had this thought, way back in like chapter three or so, about what the theme of this story was. I mean, I don't always theme my stories, and sometimes themes happen by accident. But I felt like I had something to say about Ria's life as a hunter in Trials. And then I got to thinking about a conversation Slinky (BFF extraordinaire) and I had had one time about a TV show called Stargate: Atlantis. We had heard in an interview that the idea of SGA was to show that people aren't perfect, and when exploring new and alien worlds, you tend to screw up. A lot. Applying that to the idea of a sixteen year old girl hunting vampires didn't seem too farfetched for me. She's new at this. And she's a kid. She's going to make mistakes. But then I started to think about the characters I was going to have around her this time. Isaac was formerly evil. He's never—in my own head canon—felt love like this. So he's gonna screw up in dealing with it. Jason was an angry teen when he learned that this "super awesome" destiny couldn't be his, and that his bratty older sister didn't want it. So of course he was going to lash out in some way that could be hazardous. Sara had watched Ria defeat Dracula the year before. Of course the training was going to be a bit more lax when maybe it shouldn't have been (except for the free running, maybe, ha). And then there's Alucard. Oldest of them all. And even he made mistakes. Because he's not perfect. No matter how we fangirls like to write it, he's not. Not logically. I mean, his parentage alone is enough to screw him up for a million lifetimes or more. And that's just the good guys. In short, my theme for this fic was "nobody's perfect and shit happens because of it." Maybe that's not a happy theme, but I think it fits. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this, so feel free to include them in your review. Or heck, PM me with them if you want. Thanks again for reading!


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